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THE 

COMMENTATOR 


CHILD’S 


ON 


THE BIBLE, 


FOR 


jl 

1 

I 


THE HOME CIRCLE. 


BY 

INGRAM COBBIN, M. A., 

it 

AUTHOR OF “ COBBIN’S DOMESTIC BIBLE,” “ PORTABLE COMMENTARY,” “ TH^*Tffu^BAJTO' 
NEW TESTAMENT WITH NOTES,” ETC., ETC. 

)PYR®WT 


<1 


WITH AN INTRODUCTION 

By Dr. L. P. BROCKETT. 



“ From a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise 
unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” — 2 Tim. iii. 15. 


• NEW YORK : 

HENRY S. GOODSPEED & CO., 

SCHUYLER SMITH & CO., LONDON, ONT. 

M. A. PARKER & CO., CHICAGO. 

F. DEWING & CO., SAN FRANCISCO. 

J. FRANKLIN RIDAY & CO., BOSTON. 


CHARLES A. STEBBINS, PROVIDENCE, R. I. 

)y$7A. ' 





Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1ST?, by 
H. S. GOODSPEED, 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, D. C. 


INTRODUCTION. 


“ A Commentator for Children ! ” exclaims some confirmed 
grumbler, after reading our title page. “Well, what will 
they get up next for children ? Books for them fairly swarm 
on our shelves, now ; and here comes a writer who under- 
takes to get up a Commentary for them. What is the use ? 
They never had any such nonsense when I was a child.” 
Probably not, friend. If they had you might have under- 
stood God’s blessed word better, and have learned that this 
fault-finding spirit is specially rebuked there. 

But who needs brief, simple and clear explanations of the 
W ord of God to help him to understand its narratives, its 
instructions, and its commands, more than the child ? Grown 
people find serious difficulty in understanding many portions 
of the Sacred Book, for want of knowledge of the changes of 
sense in the words used, the character of the people to whom 
it was addressed, and the manners and customs which pre- 
vailed when it was written. And if these difficulties are so 
great that most intelligent adults require some explanatory 
work to help them to understand it, why should not a child 
require such aid, in a much larger degree ? 

To them, the language is new, the people very different 
from those they see around them daily, and though the 
truths are highly important, yet they seem to them afar off, 
and as if delivered to a strange nation. 

It was from a deep conviction of this need, on the part of 


VI 


INTRODUCTION . 


the young, of something which should lead them to study 
with greater pleasure and larger profit, God’s, holy Word, 
that the late Bev. Ingram Cobbin, a most devout and learned 
student of the Scriptures, was led to prepare the Child’s 
Commentator, a work which has received the highest praise 
from all quarters in England. In adapting it to the w ants 
of young American readers, the American editor has found 
some changes needful, mostly those which should make por- 
tions of the Sacred narrative a little plainer to the compre- 
hension of the child, and also a few alterations from English 
to American money, weights, measures, etc. But as far as 
possible the original text, with its inimitable clearness and 
simplicity has been preserved. Having thus given the mo- 
tives which prompted both the author and the American i] 
editor to prepare this work for the young, let us now proceed | 
to state a few reasons why we deem the study and knowledge i 
of God’s Word so important for the child, even in tender J 
years. | 

The Bible is especially adapted to the young. Its narra- 
tives are so plain and simple, yet so faithful to life and so 
touching in their pathos and beauty, that they are pre-emi- 
nently adapted to the comprehension of the young. Its 
pictures are indeed mostly in outline, but the imagination of 
the child once roused is adequate to the perfecting of the 
landscape. Many of these narratives too are about children, 
and the child of our own time may well be interested in 
learning of the boy Samuel, devoted to the service of God by 
his mother ; of the little ruddy shepherd boy of Bethlehem ; 
of the young Solomon ; of Josiah and Joash ; of the Shu- 
namite’s son ; of the Jewish boys of the captivity ; of the 
little Miriam, precociously wise and prudent ; of the daughter 



INTRODUCTION. 


vii 


of Jephtha ; of the girlish Ruth, and of the little maidens 
who sang in the temple choirs, and whose childish play in 
the streets of Jerusalem made the holy city so attractive. So 
too in the New Testament, the children of Bethlehem whose 
sad fate is so briefly but pathetically told ; the daughter of 
Jairus ; the little ones whom Jesus blessed, and from whose 
example he instructed his disciples ; the young Timothy, 
whose early instruction had made him prepared for his call 
to the missionary work ; and most instructive and touching 
of all, the infancy and boyhood of Him who took upon Him 
our nature, and in the helplessness of infancy, the simplicity 
of boyhood, and the dignity of manhood, never forgot His 
Father’s business, but walked ever in the light of heaven. 

But the instructions, the promises, and teachings of the 
Word of God, not less than its narratives, are intended for 
the young ; and how important it is, that in their tender 
years, they should be attracted to these and brought to un- 
derstand and trust them. All through the blessed Book 
there are promises and instructions addressed to children, 
and these are so gracious and loving, that even the youngest 
child, who hears or reads them, cannot help being drawn to- 
ward the good God, and the tender and affectionate Saviour 
who loved little children so much. 

There are so many story books for children in these days, 
and too many of them very silly and foolish stories, that it is 
often said that there is danger that children will read these 
and neglect the Bible. But there is not so much danger of 
it as many fear, for the stories in the Bible are so much more 
interesting than any others, that if the children only know 
about them, they will prefer them to all the story books in the 
world. More than three hundred and thirty years ago, in 



Vlii INTRODUCTION. 

England, the Bible was not easily procured, and for a long 
time people were forbidden to read it ; at this time an En- 
glish lady of high rank, who was afterwards queen, gave to a 
little girl a New Testament to read. She had never seen ono 
before, and night after night she read it by a rush-light, and 
when once completed she read it through again and again, 
each time finding something new and interesting in it, and 
when, in after times, there came terrible persecution, and peo- 
ple were punished and even killed for reading that blessed 
Book, she rejoiced that she had so much of it hid away in 
her heart ; and going among those who were imprisoned and 
tortured for Christ’s sake, encouraged them to be true to 
\ their Heavenly Master, by repeating to them many portions 
of the Holy Word which she had committed to memory. 

We hope, then, that this book, so carefully prepared for 
?, children, will be the means of awakening in their minds a 
desire to study that book which God has given to us, to teach 
us how we ought to live and what we ought to do, and which 
also gives us so beautiful and interesting an account of what 
good men and women did, in their childhood, thousands of 
years ago, and above all, what the blessed Jesus said and did 
when he was on the earth. May He who when He was on 
earth so loved and cherished little children, make this book 
of service to them in leading them to Him. L. P. B. 

Brooklyn. Oct., 1872 . 



PREFACE. 



The Author of this Work has long had the plan of it entered 
in a list of intended writings for young people ; and now, after 
release from other engagements, embraces an early opportunity 
of introducing it to the attention of Parents and Teachers. 

He hopes that the methods he has adopted will lead the 
young to love and read the Bible. By explaining certain por- 
tions of it in a plain and simple way, and yet incorporating much 
that is instructive and interesting, they will become familiar 
with many of those customs, which, being Oriental, are quite 
strange and unintelligible, not only to the young, but also to 
those of more mature years ; and, by short and pointed remarks, 
they will learn to see what improvement may be made of the 
sacred pages, so as not to read them as a mere story. 

The short portions selected from the chapters will be likely 
to impress their minds, and fix important truths and facts in 





X PREFACE. 

their memories ; and the subjects connected with them will 
probably be sought for in the Bible without compulsion, which 
would but too often produce disgust. 

The Author hopes, too, that an early knowledge of the Holy 
Scriptures, with those helps which men of science and piety 
have afforded for the better understanding of their contents, 
will so assist in confirming the young mind in the value and 
knowledge of divine revelation, that it will be the better fortified 
against those attacks which are so subtilely employed by Infidels 
to undermine the foundation of the best hopes of dying man. 






THE PAPER REEDS BY THE BROOKS. 
















CONTENTS. 


TAOK 

Creation 25 

The Fall of Man 28 

The Murder of Abel 32 

The Death of the oldest Man who 

ever lived in the World ... 35 

The Flood 39 

The Building of Babel, and Be- 
ginning of many Languages 41 

Abram 45 

Lot 47 

Battle of the Kings, and Lot 

taken Prisoner 48 

Burning of Sodom aud Gomorrah 50 

Hagar and Ishmael 54 

Abraham Offering up his Sou 

Isaac 59 

The Death of Sarah 64 

The Marriage of Isaac and Rebe- 

kah 65 

The Death of Abraham 70 

Esau selling his Birth right 72 

Isaac’s Prosperity 74 

Isaac blessing Jacob 77 

Jacob’s Dream 80 

Jacob and Laban 82 

Jacob and his Flocks 84 

Jacob’s Escape from Laban .... 86 

Jacob and the Angels 88 

Jacob and Esau 90 

The slaying of the Shechcinites.. 92 
Jacob and the strange Gods .... 94 
Esau's final removal from Canaan 99 
Joseph and his Brethren 99 


TAGS 

Joseph in Potiphar’s House .... 103 

Joseph in Prison 104 

Joseph raised to Honour 106 

Joseph’s Brethren in Egypt buy- 
ing Corn : . 110 

Joseph’s Brethren sent home for 

Benjamin 112 

Joseph’s Brethren returned to 

Egypt 115 

" ’ • * ~ ’ 116 




Joseph makes himself known to fa 

his Brethren 

118 W 

Jacob goes into Egvpt 

119 T 

Jacob before Pharaoh 

120 1 

Jacob on his Death-bed. 

123 t 

Jacob’s Funeral and Joseph’s ’ 

Death 

124 

The Children of Israel in Bon- 

dage. 

129 

The Birth and Wonderful Preser- 

vation of Moses 

130 

Moses and the Burning Bush . . . 

137 

Moses performs Miracles, and 
goes with Aaron to the Isra- 

elites 

141 

Moses applies to Pharaoh — Pha- 

raoh’s Obstinacy and Cruelty 

142 

Moses again commanded to go to 

Pharaoh 

143 

Beginning of the Ten Plagues of 

Egypt. The Plague of Blood 

143 

The Plagues of Frogs, of Lice, of 

Flies 

145 


(T\ <j) 

■ i m /a ) M / TTv \3 Iyv. l 


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PAGE 

The Plagues of Murrain, of Boils 
and Blains, and of Rain, Hail, 

and Fire 147 

The Plagues of Locusts and Dark- 
ness 149 

Destruction of the First-born of 
Egypt, and Release of the 

Children of Israel 151 

The Departure of the Children of 
Israel from Egypt, and the 
Drowning of Pharaoh and 
his Army in the Red Sea . . 153 

Moses’s Song 157 

The Israelites fed with Manna. . 163 
Moses smites the Rock — Israel 
defeats the Amalekites .... 165 

The Giving of the Law 168 

Laws given to the Israelites by 

Moses 172 

The Tabernacle, its Furniture, 

and Priests 175 

The Golden Calf 185 

Israel again threatened with 

God's Displeasure 188 

The Ten Commandments renew- 
ed 189 

Offering for the Tabernacle . — 191 
Bezaleel and Aholiab filled with 
wisdom to do the work of 

the Tabernacle 191 

The Burnt-offering 193 

The Meat-offering 195 

The Sacrifices 196 

Consecration and Duties of the 

Priests 201 

Awful Judgment on Nadab and 

Abihu 202 

Laws respecting the Food of the 

Israelites 204 

Laws on Leprosy 209 

The Scape-goat 212 

The Blasphemer stoned 214 

The Year of Jubilee 216 


PAGE 


Commandments, Promises, and 

Threatenings 220 

Vows 221 

The Numbering of the Tribes of 

Israel 225 

The Law concerning Nazarites. . 227 
The Offerings of the Tribes to the 

Tabernacle 229 

Directions about the Levites. . . . 231 
The Pillar of Cloud and Fire . . . 233 
The Silver Trumpets, and March 

from Sinai 237 

The Murmuring Israelites fed 

with Quails 240 

Miriam’s Leprosy 245 

The Twelve Spies sent to Ca- 
naan 249 

The Sabbath-breaker stoned to 

Death 255 

Korah, Dathan, and Abiram swal- 
lowed up 258 

The wonderful Budding of Aaron’s 

Rod 262 

Provisions for the Priests and Le- 
vites 265 

The Red Heifer 267 

Moses smites a second Rock for 

W ater 268 

The First Battles of the Israel- 
ites and Canaanites — The 

Brazen Serpent 270 

Balaam and his Ass 273 

Balak disappointed in cursing Is- 
rael 277 

Various Events a little before the 
Death of Moses : — 

Idolatry of the Israelites with 

the Moabites 279 

Death of Zimri 280 

Moses makes War on the Mi- 

dianites 281 

The first Settlement of the Is- 
raelites 282 




CONTENTS, 


XV 


TheLimits of the promisedLand 

Laws for the Israelites 

Remembering the Scriptures 

The Idol Moloch 

Charmers or Conjurors 

Land-marks 

The StubbomSon — False Weights 
— Doing Mischief to the 

Blind 

Moses warned of his Death — his 

Song 

Moses’s Death. — Joshua Leader 

of Israel 

Joshua passes Jordan — meets an 

Angel 

The Spies concealed by Rahab. . 

The Israelites pass Jordan 

The Taking of J ericho 

The Sin of Achan 

The Stoning of Achan 

The Taking of Ai 

The Gibeonites saved by craft. . 
The five Kings defeated and exe- 
cuted 

The Sun and Moon stand still for 

Joshua 

Further Conquests of Joshua . . . 
The Land divided by Joshua 

among the Tribes 

Three Cities of Refuge 

Cities given to the Levites .... 
Return home of the two Tribes 

and a half 

Death of Joshua . 

King Adoni-bezek punished .... 

Othniel judges Israel 

Ehud judges, and kills King Eg- 

lon 

Shamgar kills the Philistines 

with an Ox-goad 

Deborah and Barak judge Israel 
The woman Jael kills Sisera. . . . 
The triumphant Song of Deborah 
and Barak 


PAGE 


Gideon judges Israel 344 

Gideon’s Exploits and Death. . . . 346 

King Abimelech 351 

Jair 353 

| Jephthah 353 

The Birth of Samson 356 

Samson’s Riddle 359 

His Death 363 

The Story of Micah and his Gods 365 
The History of Naomi and Ruth 370 

Young Samuel 376 

Eli’s wicked Sons 881 

The History of the Ark 383 

Its Restoration to Israel 388 

Saul chosen to be King 391 

Samuel anointed him 395 

Saul’s Victory over the Ammon- 
ites 396 

Samuel’s farewell Address to Is- 
rael 398 

Saul rejected from being King. . 400 
Jonathan’s bold attack of the 

Philistines 402 

The Amalekites destroyed 406 

David anointed to be King of Is- 
rael 408 

David’s Victory over Goliath. . . 412 

Jonathan’s love to David 417 

Saul’s hatred of him, and attempts 

to take his life 419 

David eats the Shew-bread .... 422 
David in the Cave of Adullam, 
and the Priests slain by or- 
der of Saul 425 

David defeats the Philistines at 

Keilah 428 

Saul’s skirt cut off by David. . . . 430 

Samuel’s Death 433 

Saul's Spear and Cruse taken 
from him while asleep by 

David 437 

David’s Flight to Gath, and Re- 
sidence at Ziklag 439 

The Witch of Endor 44C 


PAGE 

283 

287 

290 

291 

292 

292 

293 

297 

298 

303 

304 

305 

311 

312 

313 

315 

316 

319 

320 

322 

324 

331 

332 

333 

334 

335 

339 

339 

340 

341 

342 

343 




CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

David’s march along with the 

Philistines 446 

The Amalekites having plun- 
dered and burnt Ziklag are 
pursued and slain by Da- 
vid 448 

Saul defeated and slain by the 

Philistines 450 

Execution of the Amalekite who 

slew Saul 453 

Battle between Abner and Joab 455 
The M irder of Abner by Joab . 458 

The Murder of Ishbosheth 462 

David King over all Israel 463 

Removal of the Ark, and solemn 

Death of Uzzah 465 

David’s Conquests 468 

David’s Kindness to Mephibo- 

sheth 472 

David’s Ambassadors insulted 

by the Ammonites 473 

The Murder of Uriah 476 

Nathan’s Message to David 478 

Amnon killed by ^Absalom 481 

Absalom’s Rebellion 484 

Ziba’s base conduct to Mephibo- 

sheth 487 

Shimei curses David 488 

Hushai deceives Absalom 488 

Ahithophel’s wicked counsel de 

feated by Hushai 489 

Absalom’s Defeat and Death . . . 492 
David’s return to Jerusalem. . . . 498 
Sheba’s Rebellion and Death. . . . 501 

Saul’s Sons executed 503 

David’s Psalm of Thanksgiving . 506 

His Heroes 511 

His Pride in N umbering the Peo- 
ple 512 

Adonijah’s Conspiracy 5l7 

Solomon proclaimed King 519 

The Death of David 520 


PAGE 

The Executions of Adonijah, of 

Joab, and of Shimei 522 

Solomon’s Marriage 524 

His Dream, and Prayer for Wis- 
dom 524 

His Prosperity and Honour .... 526 
Preparation for Building the Tem- 
ple 529 

The Building of the Temple .... 531 

Solomon’s Houses 533 

The Ornaments and Utensils for 

the Temple 534 

The Dedication of the Temple . . 539 
Solomon’s New Cities and Mer- 
chant Ships 541 

The Queen of Sheba’s Visit to So- 
lomon 543 

Solomon’s great Riches 544 

His Disobedience to God 547 

Jeroboam chosen King of the 

Ten Tribes 551 

Rehoboam chosen King of Judah 554 

Jeroboam’s Hand withered 555 

The disobedient Prophet . . . 556 

The Sins of Jeroboam and Reho- 
boam 558 

The Reigns of Abijam, Asa, Na- 

dab, and Baasha 561 

Elijah miraculously fed 567 

The Widow’s Oil and Meal multi- 
plied 568 

Her Son raised to life 569 

Baal’s false Prophets exposed and 

slain by Elijah 509 

Elijah’s Flight from Jezebel. . . . 574 
The War between Benhadad and 

Ahab 576 

Naboth robbed of 1 is Vineyard, 
and murdered by Ahab and 

Jezebel 583 

Ahab killed in Battle 585 

Jehoshaphat’s good Reign 588 


CONTENTS 




PAGE 

Sickness and death of Ahaziah 593 
Destruction of a hundred of his 
Soldiers bj Fire from Hea- 
ven 595 

Elijah taken to Heaven in a Char- 
iot of Fire 596 

Children who mocked Elisha kill- 
ed by Bears 599 

Israel miraculously supplied with 

Water 600 

The Moabites defeated 602 

Various Miracles by Elisha . . . 604 

The Shunamite’s Son raised to 

Life by Elisha 607 

Idle deadly Pottage made good . 607 
A Hundred Men fed with Twen- 
ty small Loaves 608 

Naaman cured of his Leprosy by 

Elisha 608 

An Axe made to swim by him. . 614 
The King of Syria’s Secrets told 

by Elisha 615 

The Siege of Samaria 616 

Ben-hadad, King of Syria, mur- 
dered by his Servant Ha zael 620 
Jehu anointed to be King of Israel 624 

Joram and Ahaziah slain 625 

Jezebel killed 626 

Ahab’s Seventy Sons slain 627 

Usurpation and Death of Atha- 

liah 629 

The Reign of Joash, King of J u- 
dah 630 


I’AGI 


The Reigns of Jehoahaz, and Jo- 
ash, Kings of Israel 633 

Death of the Prophet Elisha. . . . 634 
The Dead Man raised to Life in 

his Sepulchre 635 

The Reigns of Amaziah, Jerobo- 
am, and Joash 635 

The Reigns of Azariah, Zachari- 
ah, Shallum, Menahem, Pe- 
kahiah, Pekah, and Jotham. 637 
The Reign of Ahaz, King of Ju- 
dah 639 

Hoshea, the last King of Israel. . 641 
The Tribes of Israel carried away 

into Captivity 642 

The good Hezekiah, King of Ju- 
dah 645 

Sennacherib’s Army destroyed. . 648 
Hezekiah’s severe Sickness and 

wonderful Recovery 649 

Manasseh’s exceedingly wicked 

Reign in Judah 650 

Amon’s wicked Reign in Judah . 651 
Josiah, the most excellent King 

cf Judah 652 

Jehoiakim's Reign, and his Son 
Jehoiachin’s short Reign in 
Judah, and the Captivity of 
him and his people, by Nebu- 
chadnezzar 656 

Zedekiah’s Reign 657 

The Destruction of Jerusalem by 

Nebuchadnezzar 658 




r 



xviii 


CONTENTS. 




PAGE 


Distinguishing Marks of the 

Kings of Israel 662 

Characters of the Kings of Ju- 
dah 663 

Contemporary Kings of Israel 

and Judah 664 

Judah after the Captivity of Is- 
rael 666 

The First Book of Chronicles. 667 
The Second Book of Chronicles 670 
Ezra — T he Proclamation of Cy- 
rus for Restoring the Tem- 
ple 677 

Restoration of the Jews from 

their Captivity in Babylon. . 679 
The laying of the Foundation of 

the second Temple 681 

The Building of the Temple hin- 
dered 685 

The building of the Temple con- 
tinued 688 

Ezra’s prosperous Embassy to 
Babylon, and return to Jeru- 
salem, favoured by King Ar- 

taxerxes 690 

Ezra forwards the work of God 

at Jerusalem 693 

Judah’s sinful alliances, and ge- 
neral reformation 694 

The Book of Nehemiah 696 

Nehemiah’s affliction at the state 

of Jerusalem 699 

The building of the Wall of Jeru- 
salem 701 

Nehemiah’s noble Conduct to- 
wards the Jews 704 

Artifices of Sanballat and his 
Accomplices to ruin Nehe- 
miah 706 

Nehemiah’s wise Measures to pro- 
tect Jerusalem 708 

The reading of the Law, and the 

Feast of Tabernacles 710 


PAGE 


A solemn Fast of the Jews x2 

The People make a Covenant tc 

serve God 712 

The Dedication of the Wall of 

Jerusalem 715 

Book of Esther 719 

Esther made Queen of Persia . . 722 
Haman’s Exaltation and Plan to 

destroy the Jews 724 

His Fall and Execution 726 

Mordecai’s Advancement 785 

The Jews’ Victory over their ene- 
mies 737 

The Feast of Purim established 738 
The Book of Job. — H is History, 

Riches, and Afflictions .... 741 

His Death 750 

Explanatory remarks on the Book 

of Job 751 

The Book of Psalms 755 

Explanation of the Design of the 

Psalms 755 

Their Titles 760 

Their Authors 766 

The Book of Proverbs 768 

Ecclesiastes 779 

The Song of Solomon 782 

The Four Greater Prophets. — 1. 

Isaiah 786 

Prophesies Explained 786 

Times of the Prophets 788 

Table of the Prophets 789 

Captivity of the Jews in Babylon 790 
The Release of the Jews by Cy- 
rus 790 

2. Jeremiah. 

Used Signs as well as Words. . . 793 
His Sufferings for prophesying 

the Truth 794 

Made a Captive, and set at Li- 
berty 794 

Prophesies respecting Babylon . . 795 
Lamentations of Jeremiah 795 



CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

8. Ezekiel. 

Prophecies respecting Tyre .... 79G 
Prophecies respecting Egypt. . . . 797 
4. Daniel. 

Prophecies about the Four great 

Monarchies 798 

Nebuchadnezzar’s golden Image. 798 
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedne- 

go cast into a Furnace 803 

Nebuvmadnezzar’s wonderful 

Dream 804 

Dream explained by Daniel. . . . 805 
Nebuchadnezzar becomes mad. . 805 

Belshazzar’s Feast 806 

The wonderful Writing explain- 
ed by Daniel 807 

Daniel promoted by Darius .... 808 

Conspiracy against Daniel 808 

Daniel accused of praying to God 809 
Daniel thrown into a Den of 

Lions £09 

Extraordinary Vision of Daniel. 810 
The Twelve Minor Prophets. 

I. Hosea, 2. Joel, 3. Amos, 4. Oba- 

diah £12 

6. Jonah £1^ 

Swallowed by a great Fish bl5 

Jonah’s Gourd £17 

6. Mieah, 7. Nahum £17 

8. Hnbakkuk, 9. Zephaniahj 10. 
Haggai £1£ 

II. Zechariah, 12. Malachi £1£ 

Apocrypha explained £19 

Conclusion of the Old Testament 819 

The History of the Jews, be- 
tween THE TIMES RECORDED 

in the Old and New Tes- 


tament £20 

The New Testament 833 

Sr. Matthew 833 

The Generation of Jesus Christ. . 835 
The Birth of the Saviour 837 


page 


The Visit of the Wise Men 838 

Herod’s cruel Command 841 

Account of John the Baptist. . . . 842 
The Baptism of Jesus Christ. . . . 847 
The Pharisees and Sadducees. . . 847 
The Temptation of Jesus Christ. 848 

Jesus chooses his Disciples 850 

The Miracles of Christ 850 

His Sermon on the Mount 851 

The Beatitudes 852 

Christ’s Exposition of the Law . . 854 
The Scribes and the Publicans. . 855 

The Nature of Charity 858 

Of Prayer — The Lord's Prayer. . 859 
Conclusion of Christ’s Sermon on 

the Mount 882 

Miraculous Cure of the Leper. . . 863 
The Centurion’s Servant healed 864 

Christ stills the Tempest 8J7 

Cure of Two Men possessed of 

Devils 868 

Call of Matthew 869 

Eastern Bottles 871 

The Ruler’s Daughter raised .... 872 
Two Blind Men receive Sight. . . 873 

Christ’s Twelve Disciples 874 

Christ’s Character of John the 

Baptist 878 

The Pharisees’ Enmity against 

Christ 881 

The Parable of the Sower 884 

The Wheat and the Tares 888 

The Treasure and the Merchant- 
man 889 

The Net and fhe Householder . . 890 
The Martyrdom of John the Bap- 
tist 893 

Christ feeds the Multitude .... 896 

He walks on the Sea 897 

Christ rebukes the Pharisees for 
teaching Unkindness to Pa- 
rents 898 

Cures the Daughter of the Syro 

Phoenician Woman 891# 



PAGE 


The Pharisees and Sadducees 

tempt Christ 901 

Peter’s Confession about Christ. . 902 
The Transfiguration of Christ. . . 905 
Christ teaches Humility, Kind- 
ness, and Self-denial 908 

He disputes with the Pharisees. 913 

Receives little Children 913 

Converses with a rich young Man 915 
The Parable of the Labourers in 

the Vineyard 917 

Christ foretels his Sufferings . . 919 
The Petition of Zebedee’s Sous. . 919 

The Two Blind Men 920 

Christ’s triumphant Entry into 

Jerusalem 923 

He drives the Buyers and Sellers 

out of the Temple 925 

The Parable of the Two Sons . . 928 

And of the Husbandmen 929 

■ ^ The Corner-Stone 930 

The Parable of the Marriage 

Supper 931 

Conversations or Christ with the 

I Pharisees 933 

' Disputes with the Sadducees con- 
cerning the Resurrection . . 934 


Christ’s Discourse respecting the 

Wickedness of the Pharisees 937 
He foretels the Destruction of Je- 


rusalem 943 

The Parable of the Ten Virgins 946 

Of the Talents 949 

The Day of Judgment 950 

The Passover 951 

The Sufferings of Christ 957 

The Agony of our Saviour .... 957 

Betrayed by Judas 958 

Denied by Peter 960 

The Sufferings of Christ 9ol 

His Death 965 

The Resurrection of Christ 969 

St. Mark 972 

Parable of the Sower 972 


PAGH 

Christ cures a deaf Man 975 

Blind Man cured at Bethsaida . . 975 
The Gospel according to Luke 977 
The Birth of John the Baptist . . 977 
The Birth and Early Days of Je- 
sus Christ 979 

Christ persecuted at Nazareth. . 985 
Christ's Miracle of the Draught 

of Fishes 989 

He raises the W idow’s Son .... 993 

The Penitent Woman 994 

The Seventy Disciples sent forth 995 

The Inquiring Lawyer 998 

The Good Samaritan 998 

Martha and Mary 1001 

Christ teaches his Disciples to 

pray 1002 

The Parable of the Rich Fool . . 1003 

The Waiting Servants 10o4 

The Barren Fig-Tree 1007 

The Highest Seat 1008 

The Lost Piece of Money 1008 

The Prodigal Son 1008 

The Unjust Steward 1009 

The Rich Man and Lazarus .... 1010 

The Pharisee and Publican 1010 

Zaccheus, the Publican 10ll 

Account of John the Evangelist. 1015 

Christ the Lamb of God 1019 

Nathaniel’s Character, and Con- 
jectures about him 1020 

Marriage at Cana, in Galilee. . . .1021 
Christ's Conversation with Nico- 

demus 1025 

The Woman of Samaria 1028 

The Nobleman’s Son Cured .... 1030 
Christ cures the disabled Man at 

the Pool of Bethesda 1031 

Christ compares himself to Bread 1033 
Christ the Spring or Fountain of 

Happiness 1035 

The Accused Woman 1036 

Christ gives Sight to a Man born 

Blind 103? 



CONTENTS. 


XXI 


PAGE 

Christ compares himself to a 

Door 1041 

Christ the Good Shepherd 1042 

He raises Lazarus from the Deadl043 
The Promise of the Holy Spiritl045 
The Parable of the Vine aud 

Branches 1046 

Christ commits his Mother to the 

care of John 1048 

His certain Death from the Sol 

dier piercing his Side . . . .1052 
The Appearances of Christ after 

his Resurrection 1053 

The Acts of the Apostles . . . .1056 

Peter’s first Sermon 1061 

The Lame Man restored 1062 

The Apostles, Peter and John, 
taken before the Jewish San- 
hedrim 1063 

Ananias and Sapphira 1064 

Peter and John thrown into Pri- 
son 1067 

Released by an Angel 106 1 

The Death of Stephen 1069 

Saul of Tarsus 1069 

Simon Magus 1070 

Conversion of Saul of Tarsus. . . .1072 

Saul becomes a Disciple 1076 

Peter cures Eneas 1077 

Dorcas restored to Life 1077 

Cornelius, the Centurion, sends 

for Peter 1078 

Peter returns to Jerusalem .... 1080 
His Imprisonment and Miracu- 
lous Escape 1082 

The Death of Herod 1084 

Elymas struck with Blindness . . 1087 
Paul and Barnabas mistaken for 

Gods 1089 

Disputes at Jerusalem, settled by 

the Apostles 1090 

Paul and Barnabas separate 1094 

Paul takes young Timothy from 


Lystra 


1094 


PAGE 

Lydia converted 1095 

An evil Spirit cast out 1095 

Paul and Silas cast into Pri- 
son 1096 

And wonderfully released . . . .1097 

Paul at Athens 1099 

Paul in the Areopagus 1100 

His extensive Travels to preach 

the Gospel 1105 

His Miracles at Ephesus 1106 

Account of Ephesus and its Tem- 
ple 1108 

Paul visits Troas 1115 

Eutychus falls from a Window in 

his Sleep 1116 

Rhodes, and its Wonderful Sta- 
tue 1118 

Paul goes to Jerusalem, and is ill- 

treated by the Jews 1119 

The Soldiers take him to Cesareall21 
Pleads his own Cause before 

Agrippa 1122 

Paul’s dangerous Voyage to 

Rome, and Shipwreck . . . .1124 

Lands at Melita 1129 

Paul works Miracles there ....1130 

Paul’s Arrival at Rome 1131 

The Epistles 1132 

To the Romans 1132 

To the Corinthians 1136 

To f he Galatians 1139 

To the Ephesians 1139 

To the Philippians 1141 

To the Colossians 1141 

To the Thessalonians 1143 

To Timothy 1144 

To Titus 1144 

To Philemon 1145 

To the Hebrews 1145 

The General Epistle of James. 1147 
The Epistles General of Peter 1 149 
The Epistles General of John 1149 
The General Epistle of Jude . 1150 
The Revelation of St. John. . . . H 53 



TO THE YOUNG READERS. 


Dear Young Friends, 

It would not be possible for us to know who made the world, 
when it was made, how it was made, and why it was made, had 
not God told us that he did it; and sent us a book called the 
Bible ; which, besides, tells us about a great many other won- 
derful things. Nor should we know what would become of us 
after death, nor have any hope of living with those we love, and 
who love God, when we have done with this world, had not the 
Bible told us. This book is very interesting, also ; it tells us a 
great many things about people who lived many thousand years 
ago ; and how God loved them, and kept them, and was angry 
with them if they did wicked things ; and what he did for them 
that did good things, and feared him, and walked in the way 
which he commanded. It tells us, too, about great kings, and 
nations, and battles, and other things, long before any other book 
can tell us: and, above all, it tells us about Jesus Christ, that 
good, that kind Saviour, who, when we needed his help, came to 
save us, sinners against God, from being dreadfully punished for 
our sins. We have in it an account of his glory, his birth, his 
life, his death, his rising from the grave, his going to heaven, and 
his coming again to judge the world. Pray to God to give you 
a heart to love this book, and read it with care ; and God will 
bless you. 


Your affectionate friend, 


The Author, 








CAIN AND ABEL 









THE BOOK OF THE BEGINNING OF ALL THINGS. 


THF FIRST CHAPTER OF GENESIS. 

Creation. 

“ In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” — 
Ver. 1. 

Please read this first chapter of Genesis through after you 
have read what I am going to say to you about it. 

This is a very beautiful world that we live in, and a very 
great world. It extends much further than we can see, further 






indeed than we can think ; and there are hills and valleys and 
plains, there is bright sand, and green grass and great trees, 
and men and women and children, and birds and beasts and 
insects live on the dry land, and fishes in the waters. 

Now, God made all things, not as you would make a box or 
a whistle or a doll out of wood or clay or paper, or anything 
else. He made all things out of nothing by just speaking and 
commanding them to be; and this first chapter of Genesis tells 
us just how he did it. Let us look at it a little. 

When God first spoke the word which collected together the 
matter of which our earth was made, the same word created, 
that is, made out of nothing, this matter. It came together at 
his call and it was all confusion. Just how it looked we can- 
not tell, but the water and the sand, the rocks and the clay, the 
clouds and the vapor or steam were all jumbled together. Pos- 
sibly this state of things took place more than once, while God 
was getting this world ready for man to live in. 

But it was after one of these times of confusion, that God 
saw that the world was in just the right condition to make it a 
home for the being he was going to create, and he proceeded 
to make it ready for him. With these heavy clouds and the 
water and mud mixed all together, it was very dark on this 
great rolling ball, and God first said “ Let there be fight !” and 
the fight came, but it was a dismal jumble of earth and water 
that it shone upon. There was no grass, no trees, no houses, 
and no people. Then God made the light and the darkness 
each take their turn over the world. The next time God spoke, 
and the vapor rolled away in the clouds and the water which 
had mingled with it lay on the earth in pools and broad sheets. 
He spoke again, and this water drained away from the earth 
with which it was mixed, and settling down in the deep places, 
became seas and lakes and rivers, and the dry land appeared. 

It was now ready to produce grass and trees and bushes, 
and these could yield fruits and seeds and leaves for food. So 
God ordered the grass and trees and herbs to spring up, and 
they obeyed him at once. 

There had been light and darkness all this time, but the light 



child’s commentator. 


27 


was that of a cloudy day, when we cannot see what it is that 
gives us the light ; but now God ordered the clouds to part and 
the sun to appear, and when it was night, instead of the dark 
thick clouds which made it so dismal, he made the moon shine 
out and the stars twinkle in the sky, and so the day and night 
were divided, and the seasons, following the progress of the sun 
and the months, the changes of the moon, made the year com- 
plete. But so far there was nothing living on the earth. The 
sun shone, the moon ruled the night, and the trees and fruits 
and grasses grew, but there was no bird in the air, no fish in 
the sea, no beast or crawling thing upon the earth. But the 
time had come for them, and so God spoke and they all began 
to live and move, the fishes first, the birds next, and then the 
cattle, and dogs, and wild beasts, and the little worms, the snakes, 
and everything that it was needful to have on the earth. 

But when God had made all these, he had not finished his work. 
So he made man, different from all the birds and beasts and fishes 
and creeping things; he made him to stand upon his feet and to 
have dominion, that is, to rule over all the creatures which he 
had made. And in making him, God not only spoke, but 
he breathed into him the breath of life, and man became a liv- 
ing soul. He gave him something which could think and un- 
derstand and reason ; and he made him master of all the ani- 
mals, and told him to give them their names. 

When He had made man, he put him into a beautiful garden, 
to take care of it, and though He had not at first made man, 
male and female, as he had all the animals, yet very soon he 
put him to sleep, and when he waked God had created a woman 
from the man’s own flesh, and brought her to him to be his 
mate, and to help him in taking care of the beautiful garden of 
Eden. 

Now, dear children, there are two or three things for you 
to think of, as you read carefully this wonderful yet true 
story. One is, how powerful God is, that he could make all 
things out of nothing, and that he did not have to labor to do 
this, but he spoke and it was done. Another thing for you to 
think of is, how good God is, to do all this for the happiness of 


CHILDS COMMENTATOR. 

man; to make this beautiful world with all its hills and Talleys, 
all its rivers and lakes and seas, with all its green grass, its 
sweet flowers, its pleasant fruits and its trees for shade and for 
comfort, all these beasts, and fish, and birds and insects to please 
us by their beauty and their swiftness, and nourish us by t eir 
flesh. And then when he had made all these things to make 
man to enjoy them and rule over them. And you should re- 
member, also, how wise God is, to know just what would be 
most for man’s happiness and comfort, and to make everything 
in just the best way. There was nothing of all that he did 
which could have been done better. Isn’t it reasonable and 
right that man, all men, and boys and girls, too, should love and 
try to please and obey this great, powerful, good and wise 
God? 


THE SECOND AND THIRD CHAPTERS OF GENESIS. 

The Foil of Man. 

“ And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘ Of every 
tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; but of the tree of 
the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for 
m the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” 

“ Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that 
thou shouldestnot eat?” — Gen. Chap, ii., 16, 17. Chap, iii., 11. 


When God put the man and woman whom he had made 
into the beautiful garden of Eden, he gave them every thing 
tvhich they needed for their comfort. There were fruits of 
every kind which would be good for them to nourish them, and 
which they would love to eat. Their work was very easy, and 
just enough to make them hungry for their food, and make 
them sleep quietly; they were always finding something new 
about the flowers, the trees, or the animals. They had never 
done anything wrong; they loved the good God who had made 



child’s commentator. 29 


them, and who had given them all these good things, and 
every day the good angels, and God himself, in a body like the 
man’s, came down, and walked with them in the garden. God 
had made them perfectly good, without any naughty tempers j 
or any desires, such as you and I, dear children, have some- 
times, to do bad things; but he made them free to do right or 
to do wrong, because there would be no goodness in their 
doing right, if they could not do wrong. 

After all He had done for them, God only gave them one lit- 
tle command to obey. Among the thousands of fruit trees in 
that great and beautiful garden, there was only one, whose 
fruit, they were told, they must not eat. This tree was called 
“ the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,” and it was in 
the middle of the garden. It was a very little thing for them 
i to do, to keep from eating that one fruit when all the rest were 
1/ so good; and you will remember, dear children, that I told you 
| they had not any naughtiness in their hearts, as you and 

I have, which would lead them to say, “ I don’t see why I j? 
' 'I might not have this to eat as well as the rest; it looks better 
than the others and I know it will taste better; so I will eat it.” 

We know how this sort of feeling would come up in our hearts, 
but Adam and Eve had never had any such thoughts, and it ' 
seemed for a good while as if they were always going to be 
happy and good. 

But there was a bad, wicked angel called Satan, who hated 
God and all good things, and who wanted to make every body 
as bad and as unhappy as he was. He found out about Adam 
and Eve, and about the tree in the garden, and he went to 
work to make them disobey God, by eating this fruit. And 
this is the way he did it. He came in the form of a serpent or 
snake — and the serpent was then much prettier and did not 
crawl on the ground as it does now — and finding the woman 
alone, began to talk to her about the fruit (I don’t think the 
serpent himself could talk at this time, but the bad angel j 
talked through his mouth, and Eve had seen so many strange 
things about the animals that she was not frightened to hear 
him talk). He asked whether they could eat all the fruits, and 
2 



30 



child’s commentator. 




the woman told him there was one which they must not eat; 
if they did they would surely die. The bad angel told her that 
it was not so; that instead of that, if they ate of this fruit it 
would make them wise like God ; and to show that it was safe, 
he ate of it, and the woman seeing that it did not hurt him, 
believed his story, picked the fruit and not only ate it herself, 
but gave some to her husband. 

They had no sooner done this and thus disobeyed God, than 
they began to feel ashamed and wanted to hide. They went 
where the trees made the thickest and darkest shade, and they 
felt in need of clothes, which they had not wanted before ; so 
they fastened the large leaves of the trees together to make a 
covering for themselves. While they were thus trying to hide 
themselves, they heard God’s voice calling to them, and instead 
of going as quickly as they could to meet him, as they had al- 
ways done before, they got further and further into the deep 
shade. But God still called them, and at last they had to come 
out, looking sorry enough. When God said to Adam, “ Where 
art thou ?” Adam said, “ I heard thy voice in the garden, and 
I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” Then 
God said, “ Who told thee that thou wast naked 1 Hast thou 
eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest 
not eat V This question made them tremble, and the man, 
still anxious to excuse himself, said, “ The woman whom thou 
gavest to be with me she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” 
Then God said to the woman, “ What is this that thou hast 
done V ’ And the woman said, “ The serpent beguiled me, and 
I did eat.” This was the way that Sin came into the world. So 
long as Adam and Eve obeyed God and did what he had told 
them to do, they were happy and there was no sin in the world, 
for there were no other people but this man and woman then 
living in the world. But when they disobeyed God’s command, 
although it seemed to be a little thing, it changed their whole 
nature. Before, they liked to see God and to talk with him. 
Now they did not want to see him, and they hid themselves. 
Before, they were so innocent and pure that they did not need 
to wear clothes in that beautiful garden ; but now they felt 




that their hearts were so bad, that they wanted to cover them- 
selves up with clothing. It was only a little thing they had 
done, but there was the seed of greater things in it. If they 
could, merely to gratify their taste, disobey the only command 
God had given them, they would be likely to go on to worse 
things, arid thinking that they were as wise as God, they would 
want to rule in his place. 

So it was right that God should punish them for this naughty 
act of disobedience. They could not put themselves back 
where they were before, for they had broken God’s law, and 
even if they should never do it again, this once had brought 
death upon them; but having begun to disobey, God knew that 
they would do so again. 

Now then came their punishment. God had seen and known 
; what they had done, and they had had to own that they had dis- 
obeyed his command, so they knew that God must and would 
keep his word and punish them. God first told the serpent, 

| through whom the bad angel had led the man and woman to i 
:/ sin, what was to be done with him. He had been very hand- 
some, and had gone about on four feet; but after this he was 
I to crawl on the ground, and eat dust, and to be hated by every- 
body and to hate them in turn. Men were to crush his head, 
and he was to bite at their heels. The bad angel who had used 
him for this business did not belong to this world, and so God 
did not punish him at this time, but kept him for worse pun- 
ishment hereafter. 

Then God told the woman that she, who had been so happy 
before, should have a great deal of trouble; that she should 
often be sick and sad; and that her husband should rule over 
her. The frequent sickness was to be a part of that death 
which was to come upon her for eating the fruit; and since she 
had been the first to eat and had given it to her husband it was 
right that she should be punished first. 

But the man had his full share of the punishment, too, as 
he deserved; the garden had yielded fruit to him without labor, 
but he and the woman must now go away from that pleasant 
garden, and wherever they might go, they would find no other 



32 



child’s commentator. 

place where they could live without hard work, work which 
would make them sweat. When he dug up the ground and 
planted fruit trees or other things to grow for food, the thorns 
and weeds and briers would spring up and he would have 
hard work to get rid of them. He, too, was to have sickness 
and sorrow and trouble all the days of his life, and by and by 
he was to die, and his body, which at first had been made out 
of the dust, was to crumble into dust again. 

But God was very good to this man and woman, though they 
had been so naughty. He must keep his word, and so they 
must have sickness and begin to die from that day; and they 
could not live any longer in that beautiful garden ; but he gave 
them work to do, which was much better than to have let them 
be idle; he gave them the skins of beasts for clothes, which 
l were much better than those great leaves which they had tried 
I to wrap themselves up in; and what was better than all the 

| rest, he let them know that by and by his dear Son, who had 

;g£ created them and loved them, would come to this world and 
j die for them, and so they might be pardoned and their souls — 
the part in man that thinks and feels, that obeys or disobeys, 
( that loves or hates — should be taken to a better place than this 

garden of Eden — to Heaven, where they could be happy for- 
ever. Was not this good in God, when they had been so 
naughty, to thus fix a way in which they could be forgiven and 
be happy forever ? 


THE FOURTH CHAPTER OF GENESIS. 

The First Murder. 

“ And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, 
when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel 
his brother, and slew him.” — Verse 8. 


It was a sad thing for Adam and Eve that they disobeyed 
God in the garden of Eden. They were not only driven out of 



33 



child's commentator. 


Eden for it and made to work hard and sorrowfully for their 
food and clothes ; but they had other troubles which were 
a great deal worse than these. Before this, they loved God, 
and there was nothing in their hearts to lead them to do any- 
thing which they knew he would not like; but now there was in 
their hearts constantly a wish to do something which would 
offend God. Their hearts were like a glass of clear water into 
which somebody has poured a spoonful of ink, and it is now no 
longer clear, but black all through; Adam and Eve were very 
sorry for this, and offered sacrifices for their sins, as God had 
showed them how; that is, they killed a young lamb, and put it 
with its fat upon a pile of stones and burned it for an offering 
to God. This was to show that they trusted in God’s word 
and believed that he would send his Son as he had told them, 

1 \ to be killed and offered as a sacrifice, as this little lamb had 
1 been, to atone for their sins. God accepted this sacrifice and 
, forgave the sins of Adam and Eve, because they sought it for 
sj; the sake of his Son who was to come. 

«/ But the worst thing about their sin was, that all their chil- 
I dren and grandchildren and all the children who have been- 

J bom into the world since that time have inherited from them, 

these sinful hearts, so that they want to do wrong things from 
the time they can talk and go alone. I do not think that Adam 
and Eve knew this when their first children were born, but, by 
and by, they found out that it was so, and this was one of their 
many troubles. 

They had two sons at first and some daughters. When these 
sons grew up, the older one, Cain, became a tiller of the ground, 
or, as we should say, a farmer; he dug up the ground, and 
planted fruit trees, and vines, and grain, and gathered and 
stored them for food. Abel the younger brother, kept sheep 
•and probably goats also. When the right time of the year 
came around, the two brothers went to offer sacrifices to God. 
Abel did as his father and mother had taught him, and brought 
young lambs for sacrifice, to show that he believed that the 
Son of God was to be offered as a sacrifice for sin ; but Cain, 
though he had been taught the same things, did not believe 



34 



child’s commentator. 


them, but simply offered some fruit and grain as a token that 
he thought God was his master, and that he ought to pay him 
his taxes. 

In what way God showed that he was pleased with Abel’s 
offering and that he was not pleased with Cain’s, we do not 
know, but it was in such a way, that both of them understood 
it, and Cain was very angry and sulky. God spoke to Cain 
about this — for though men had sinned, yet God kept watching 
over them, and using all means to lead them to do right — but 
Cain was still sulky and angry, and pretty soon, he talked with 
Abel, and when they were in the field together, he struck his 
brother and killed him. When a child or a grown-up person 
does one naughty or bad thing, they are very apt to do other 

1 things equally bad to cover up the first. It was so with Cain. 
He did not bring the right offering, although he knew better; 
then when it was not accepted, he got angry, and when he was 
reproved, he was sulky ; next, he went away with his brother 
sj? and killed him; then when God asked him where his brother 
was, he thought he could deceive God, and pretend that he did 
'not know. But God did know, and he punished Cain by 
making him a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and for- 
bidding the earth to yield to him the fruits and grains it did to 
others. Cain was a very unhappy man after this, but he was 
also a very bad man. He went away from his father and moth- 
er, and built a strong walled fort or town, so that men need not 
kill him, and his children and grandchildren were very bad, al- 
though they made a great many things which were very useful 
to men. Some of them made tents and kept cattle, others 
made musical instruments — little pipes on which they could 
blow, or instruments with strings on which they could play 
with their fingers — and one of them, whose name was Tubal- 
Cain, found out how to work iron and copper, and how to 
melt them out of the ores. These were very good things to 
find out ; but with all their knowledge they did not know 
much about God, and they did not love or serve him. 


j 



child’s commentator. 


35 


THE FIFTH CHAPTER OF GENESIS. 

About the oldest men who ever lived in the world . 

“ And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and 
nine years, and he died.” — Verse 27. 


Adam and Eye had other children after the wicked Cain 
killed his brother Abel; and one of these, whose name was 
Seth, became a good man and his children and grandchildren 
were also good, and loved and served God, while those who 
were descended from Cain were wicked, and fought and quarrel- 
led with each other, and liked to do what they knew would not 
please God. There were at this time so few people on the 
earth that God let them live a great while before death, which 
came at last for every one, took them away. And as each one 
of them had many children, the people began after a while to 
be more plenty. Adam lived to be nine hundred and thirty 
years old (about nine times as old as the oldest men now) ; 
Seth was nine hundred and twelve ; Enos, Adam’s grandson, 
nine hundred and five ; Cainan, his great grandson, nine hund- 
red and ten; while Jared, Cainan’s grandson, was nine hundred 
and sixty-two, when he died, and his grandson, Methuselah, 
was nine hundred and sixty-nine, and so was the oldest man 
that ever lived in the world. But though some and perhaps 
all of those we have named were good men, the greater part 
of the people who lived to be very old were not good, and the 
longer they lived, the more they sinned, and the worse they 
made the world. After a time some of these people who be- 
longed to Seth’s family married some of the descendants of 
Cain, and as these grew more and more wicked they very soon 
made the world so bad that it did not seem to be God’s world 
any more. God was greatly displeased with the badness of 
men, and with their determination to sin against him all the 
time, and he sent some of the few good men that were left on 
the earth and among others Enoch, the father of Methuselah, to 
talk to the people and try to persuade them to be better and to do 




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THE RETURN OF THE DOVE TO THE ARK 




BUILDING THE TOWER OF BABEL. 







39 



child’s commentator. 


wliat was right; but they did not listen to his talk, and were so 
bad and said such wicked things, that Enoch was very much 
grieved. But he loved God so much, and was so sick of this 
bad world, that God did not let him stay in it, but took him 
home to Heaven without dying. We sometimes wonder, now- 
adays, when God takes very good people away from this world, 
and think it is very hard that we must part with them; but 
God takes them away in love, because they are better fitted to 
enjoy Heaven, and be with him, than those who are left. 



THE SIXTH, SEVENTH, EIGHTH, NINTH, AND TENTH CHAPTERS OF 

GENESIS. 

The Flood. 

“ And every living substance w r as destroyed which was upon the 
face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping 
things, and the fowls of the heaven ; and they were destroyed 
from the earth : and Noah only remained alive, and they that 
were with him in the ark.” — Chap. vii. 23. 


Men grew worse and worse, so that they were wicked every 
where. “ And there were giants in the earth in those days.” 
This means, some very huge, tall men, and also some men of 
great name, like kings ; and they were at the same time tyrants, 
that is, very cruel. * 

And God, who sees everything, “ saw the wickedness of man.” 
“ And the Lord said, 1 will destroy man, whom I have created, 
from the face of the earth ; both man, and beast, and the creeping 
thing, and the fowls of the air ; for it repenteth me that 1 have 
made them.” He that made them had a right to destroy them, 
if they did not do well after they were made ; for it was for this 
they were created. And as they used their beasts to work their 
wicked works, these, too, also perished. 

But there were yet a few good men left; among them was 
Noah. It is said, he was “ a just man and perfect;” which 
means, he was a good man ; for no man could be quite perfect 



child’s commentator. 


40 

after Adam fell, because all his children became sinful like him 
And “ Noah walked with God.” “ What ! did he walk with him 
as we do with one another ?” No, not so. This means, that 
wherever he went, he always thought upon God ; so that, while 
all the wicked world thought nothing about him, Noah thought 
as much as if he had him by his side ; and, indeed, God is every- 
where, though bad men do not think it. 

Well : God would not let the good Noah perish with the bad 
world ; so he told him how he might escape. “ What ! did God 
talk with Noah, then? How does God talk?” I will tell you. 
God does not speak with a voice as we do, but he has a great 
many ways in which he can make people hear him ; and, perhaps, 
he might show Noah in a dream, or impress it upon Noah’s mind, 
that he would drown the world. We know, however, that he who 
made Noah could easily tell him how he would save him. So he, 
being taught in some way to do it, built a huge ark, something 
like a ship without sails : and, being of wood, it could swim upon 
the water. And he made different rooms in it, and he put pitch 
inside and out, to keep out the rain. 

And at length he went into the ark, with his wife, and his sons, 
and their wives ; and God caused some of every living thing to 
go into the ark. “ And all the fountains of the great deep were 
broken up that is, the springs out of which water is pumped, 
rushed up on the earth : and perhaps the sea overflowed, and all 
the rivers in the world, “ and the windows of heaven were opened.” 

“ What ! are there windows in heaven, then ?” No, my dear : 
this is a way of speaking, — meaning only that God opened the 
clouds as we would a window, and that he poured out his rain 
upon the earth in great torrents. 

This flood was sufficient to destroy all the men, women and 
children which were then living,, except Noah and his family; 
whether it extended to this continent, we do not know, and it 
makes no difference, since there were then no people here; but 
all the nations of men, who have any history, have some account 
of this flood, though some of them in their traditions, have mixed 
other stories with it. All agree, that only one family was saved. 

W ell, at last the flood ceased, after it had rained upon the earth 



CHILD 8 COMMENTATOR. 


41 


forty days and forty nights ; and Noah remained a whole year in 
the ark, till he could come out upon dry land, and all the waters 
had sunk into the earth and dried up. 

From that time God gave a sign that he would never more 
destroy the earth by water. That sign was the rainbow. Not 
that the rainbow did not before exist, for no doubt it did ; but 
from that time, whenever we looked on the rainbow, we were to 
remember what God had said to Noah. 

But there are many other things, which I have no room to tell 
you, about the dreadful destruction which the waters made ; the 
ark resting upon a high mountain called Ararat: and Noah 
sending out a raven, and then a dove, to see if the earth was dry, 
and if they could get any resting-place ; and how he built an 
altar and returned thanks to God for saving him, as we ought 
always to do when we escape from danger ; and how God blessed 
him. All' the people in the world are descended from one or 
other of Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Most Euro- 
peans and Americans are sons of Japheth; the Jews, Arabs, etc., 
are the children of Shem; the Egyptians, etc., of Ham. 



THE ELEVENTH CHAPTER OF GENESIS. 


The Building of Babel, and Beginning of many Languages. 

“ And they said, Go to (or, Come,) let us build us a city and a 
tower, whose top may reach unto heaven (that is, be very high) ; 
and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon 
the face of the whole earth.” — Ver. 4. 


For more than seventeen hundred years everybody in the 
world spoke one language, supposed to have been Hebrew, such 
as the Jews speak; and there must have been a great many 
people in the world. But a man, supposed to have been Nimrod, 
named in chapter x. and verse 8 and 9, is thought to have wished 
to be king over them all. Therefore, under a pretence that they 
would be more happy by living all together than by spreading 
abroad over the earth which God had made for them, and would 



42 


child’s commentator. 


have them inhabit, he got them to consent to build a fine city. 
And they began a tower, which was the most wonderful thing 
that ever was seen. It was half a mile round it, and half a 
quarter of a mile high ! The shape was square, like many church 
towers, which, however, are as small, compared with it, as a post 
compared with them. There was a walk to ascend by degrees 
round and round it, as you would wind a string upon a stick till 
you got it from the bottom to the top ; and this walk was so 
broad, that horses and carriages might pass each other and turn 
round. This tower was built of brick, fastened together with a 
kind of hard pitch, instead of mortar. 

Now, as there were wicked designs in building this tower, and 
as it was against Gdd’s will that men, should all live together, 
instead of spreading over the earth, God said, “ Go to, let us go 
down, and there confound their language, that they may not 
understand one another’s speech.” 

God is here described as if he moved from one place to another; 
but it is only to explain to us that he did what we would do, if 
we had had power to set about such a thing. And nothing could 
so completely break in pieces all their plans. Where the words 
spoken by one man could not be understood by another, and any 
attempt at explanation only made matters worse, it was, of 
course, of no use for them to try to go on with their work ; the 
more they attempted it, the more blunders they would make, 
and the more enraged they would be, that what they tried to 
speak so plainly, nobody could understand. By the very sim- 
plicity of the means he employed, God thus showed his wonder- 
ful power and wisdom, and brought all their wicked plans to 
complete confusion. So they were forced to leave off building, 
and to go and live separately; perhaps angry at one another for 
being so stupid as not to understand their signs, and vexed 
enough that all their labour was lost, and that their plans were 
of no use. And to this day, when we talk of confused noises, 
we say, “ they are as bad as Babel;” and when people set about 
plans they cannot finish, we say;‘ “ they are Babel-builders .” 

Some travellers have been where Babel and afterward Baby 
Ion stood, and by digging, found some part of its wall still 



THE BIRS-NIMKUD.— Supposed by some to be the Tower of Barer 









LOT’S WIFE. 







IR 


CHILD 8 COMMENTATOR. 


45 


standing, for it was very strong ; and it is built of bricks and 
hard pitch, or slime, as the Scripture says ; so true is everything 
it relates. 

This account of the Babel-builders shows that whatever wicked 
men may think, say, or do, God will do as he pleases : for he is 
more mighty than they, — he is God Almighty. 

Xerxes, a great king of Persia, destroyed this tower : and a 
long time afterwards, Alexander, a great Grecian king, tried 
to build it again. It took ten thousand men two months to clear 
away the fallen rubbish, and then they had not done : when 
Alexander died, and his plan was given over. 


THE TWELFTH CHAPTER OF GENESIS. 

Abram. 

Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, 
and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land 
that I will shew thee : 

And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, 
and make thy name great : and thou shalt be a blessing : 

And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that 
curseth thee ; and in thee shall all the families of the earth 
be blessed.” — Ver. 1 — 3. 


You read a great deal about Abram in the Bible. His father’s 
name was Terah, and his family was of the race that sprung from 
Shem, one of the sons of Noah. 

Abram lived in a place called Ur, in the country of the 
Chaldeans ; but the people were wicked, and good people must 
not live with bad people, because they get harm by it : bad 
people lead them to do bad things, and their hearts are sad 
afterwards at what they have done. 

So God “ said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and 
from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that 
I will shew thee : 


46 


child’s commentator. 


“ And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, 
and make thy name great ; and thou shalt be a blessing : 

“ And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that 
curseth thee : and in thee shall all the families of the earth be 
blessed.” 

Now, God designed by this to keep a people in the world to 
show forth his praise ; and, thank God ! all are not wicked people, 
but he still has many in the world who love and serve him. 

How God spoke to Abram we cannot tell ; but we know that 
God can do all things, and he who made the world could very 
easily make any one in the world to know what he wished him to 
do. He now speaks to us in his word ; but then he often spoke 
to good men in dreams, and by other like means, and he might 
so speak to Abram. 

What God said to Abram was very kind and gracious. Oh, he 
is a good God to them that love him : they are always well off 
for it in the end ! He told him that he would bless him, and 
that he would make him a blessing. He would bless him by 
doing him good ; and so he did, and so he does to all good men : 
and he would make him a blessing, by causing him to do good to 
others. 

Abram minded what God said to him. He left his country, 
and he took with him those that would go of his family — his wife 
Sarai, and his nephew Lot. “ And they went forth to go into the 
land of Canaan ; and into the land of Canaan they came.” 

This was a country then full of wicked men ; but Abram did 
not go to live amongst them as he did in his native country. 
“ The Canaanite was then in the land.” The Canaanites dis- 
pleased God very much by their sins, and their land was in 
time to be taken from them because of their sins; and then 
Abram’s family would have it, and they would know what good 
was to be got by having so good a father, whom God had blessed 
and made a blessing to them. 

As soon as Abram got into Canaan, “ there was a famine,” or 
want of food in the land. The crops of corn and fruit had failed, 
and people were starving. This must have made Abram think 
whether he had done right or not in leaving his country, and 


CHILD 8 COMMENTATOR. 


47 


whether God would really bless him as he had said. But Abram 
had great faith : he was sure that all God says is right and true. 
So Abram would not go back ; and he went for a time into the 
next country, which was Egypt, and where there was corn. 


THE THIRTEENTH CHAPTER OF GENESIS. 

Lot. 

“ And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, 
between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herd- 
men ; for we be brethren. 

“ Is not the whole land before thee ? Separate thyself, I pray 
thee, from me : if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go 
to the right ; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go 
to the left.” — Ver. 8, 9. 


The riches of people in those days were mostly in cattle, of 
which they had great numbers. “ And Abram was very rich 
in cattle, in silver, and in gold.” — And Lot also, which went 
with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. And the land 
was not able to bear them,” (that is, it was not large enough just 
in that part,) “ that they might dwell together. And there was 
a strife between the herdmen of Abraham’s cattle, and the herd- 
men of Lot’s cattle.” 

In that country water was not always to be got at, as it is 
here, and wells were dug with great pains to find water. To 
those wells the cattle were driven, and water was drawn and 
given them to drink. If two parties got to a well at the same 
time, they often quarrelled who should get the water first, or who 
only should have it. This was most likely the case with Lot’s and 
Abram’s servants ; but they were wrong to quarrel, and by so 
doing they made Lot and Abram leave one another, wheii they 
might still have lived together in love and peace ; for the land 
would have been large enough if they had been kind to each 
other. There are very many children and young persons now, 
who, by their fear lest somebody is going to take away some 



48 


child’s commentator. 






thing which belongs to them, or to those who employ them, 
are constantly stirring up quarrels, and by their angry passions, 
their tale-bearing and their wrong stories, keep up a, perpetual 
strife with those around them. This is very wicked. 

But, my dear young reader, perhaps you now do the same thing 
in another way, and quarrel with your playfellow about your toys, 
and snatch them from him, and will not let him play with them 
or even look at them, or, if he happen to break them, you are in 
a rage and fury : this is all wrong, and is the same spirit that these 
naughty servants showed. Pray to God to give you a better. 

And now Abram showed how good a man he was. As Lot and 
he must part, he gave Lot his choice. He was willing to do any- 
thing for the sake of peace : and he told him, if he would go to 
the country on the left hand, then he would go to the right ; or 
if he went to the right hand, then he would go to the left. I 

How much was this unlike those children who are pleased with 
nothing ; and if they are offered one thing, want another, and 
fling and show their airs if they cannot get it. If this spirit j 

remain with them till they are men, they will always be quar- 
relling, and by their obstinacy will be disliked by everybody. 


THE FOURTEENTH CHAPTER OF GENESIS. 

Battle of the Kings, and Lot taken Prisoner. 

“ And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of 
Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, 
and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar) ; and they joined bat- 
tle with them in the vale of Siddim ; 

u With Chedorlaomer, the king of Elam, and with Tidal king 
of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of 
Ellasar ; four kings with five. 

“ And the vale of Siddim was full of slime pits ; and the kings 
of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there ; and they that 
remained fled to the mountain. 

“ And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all 
their victuals, and went their way. 



3#^ 



child’s commentator. 49 

“ And they took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who dwelt in 
Sodom, and his goods, and departed.” — Ver. 8 — 12. 


W e have here an account of the first war that we read of in 
Scripture. It is a very shocking thing, that men cannot live in 
the world without quarrelling and killing each other ; and it is a < 
breaking of God’s command, “ Thou shalt do no murder.” And 
though children do not kill each other, yet they often fight and 
hurt one another in a passion about trifles. 

Chedorlaomer was king of Persia, which was in old times called 
Elam. He was not content with what he had, but had probably 
beaten five other kings not so strong as he, and had made them 
pay him some money and goods every year, to keep their crowns. 

After he had done so for twelve years, they thought they were j 

strong enough to beat him, and so they would pay the money and I 

goods no longer. The king of Elam, or Persia, did not like to lose 
their tribute, or what they paid him ; and he got the king of , 

Shinar, or Chaldea, and two other kings, to join him, and go and i 
beat and regain these people. They met in a plain, or large piece 
of flat ground, and there they fought. The king of Elam, or 
Persia, conquered or beat them, and they all ran away. Among 
those that were beaten, was the king of Sodom, and his city was 
entered, and all that was worth having was taken away ; and Lot, 
having gone to live there, lost all that he had, and was carried 
off to be made a slave of with all his family. 

A wretched condition poor Lot was in now ! This came from 
choosing to go and live among people that did not fear God, and 
that, as we shall soon learn, were noted for being wicked. 

One of the people of Sodom escaped, and made haste to Abram, 
and told him of what had become of Lot. Abram pitied his 
poor nephew, and resolved to save him. So he took all his men, 
three hundred and eighteen in number, and divided them into 
several parts, that he might come upon the enemy on all sides ; and 
overtaking them at night, he took them by surprise — that is, when 
they did not expect it — and beat them in turn, and brought back 
Lot, “ and his goods, and the women also, and the people.” 




1 


And now the king of Sodom, hearing of what Abram had done, 
went to see if he could get back any of his people. You will see 
in the chapter, that the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and 
fell into the slime pits, or pits full of a kind of black mud, — and 
probably were smothered there ; so that this was either a new king 
of Sodom, or it was only his people that fell into the pits, and he 
escaped. Abram very kindly gave back all he had got, and 
would have nothing for what he had done. He was too good a 
man to wish to get rich by war ; and he restored everything to 
the lawful owners, lest he should break God’s law, which says, 
“ Thou shalt not steal,” and “ Thou shalt not covet thy neigh- 
bor’s goods.” It is a sad thing, that even little children have 
been known to take away, by force, from others, things which 
were not their own, because they were stronger than they. This 
is wicked ; and children who do so, if they do not grow better, 
will do far worse things when they are men. 


THE NINETEENTH CHAPTER OF GENESIS, 

The Burning of Sodom and Gomorrah. 

“Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah 
brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven ; 

“ And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the 
inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.” 
— Yer. 24, 25. 


Sodom was now become so very wicked a place, that God said 
he would destroy it at once, and he told Abraham what he meant 
to do. Now Abraham did not know it was so very wicked a place 
as it was ; and as we should always think as kindly as we can of 
everybody, Abraham hoped there might be some good people 
there besides Lot, for whose sake God would spare the wicked ci- 
ties. In the eighteenth chap, of Genesis, and at the twenty -third 
and following verses, w'e have a very fine prayer which Abraham 
prayed to God, to try and save Sodom and Gomorrah ; for we 
have said that Abraham was a good man, and good men always 



child’s commentator. 


61 

pray. He said, “ Peradventure (or if) there be fifty righteous in 
the city : wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the 
fifty righteous that are therein ? That be far from thee to do 
after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked, that be 
far from thee : shall not the Judge of all the earth do right ?” 
And the Lord said, “ If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the 
city, then I will spare all the place for theij; sakes.” 

See how God loves good people ; so much, that if there had 
only been fifty in Sodom and Gomorrah, he would have spared 
all the wicked for their sakes. And see what blessings we may 
hope for, if we live among truly good people, who love and fear 
God. 

But Abraham was afraid that there might not be fifty, for he 
no doubt knew that the cities were very wicked ; and he therefore 
prayed God to save Sodom, if the number of good people should 
be less than fifty, till at last he left off at ten ; and the Lord said, 
“ I will not destroy it for ten’s sake.” 

Some angel had appeared to Abraham, and talked with him 
on this subject. An angel means a messenger, or a person that 
carries a message. Angels are often spoken of in Scripture, for, 
in those days, God made known his mind to men by sending 
angels. These are spirits that serve God in heaven, and they often, 
by his power, put on the shape of men, and so talked with them. 

Now two angels wen-t to see the state of Sodom and Gomorrah, 
and to destroy them for their sins. In the Eastern parts of the 
world, people may now be found that are very hospitable, that is, 
kind to strangers, and ready to give them something to eat 
and drink, when they are very tired after a journey. In those 
days there was much hospitality. Lot was sitting out of doors, 
enjoying the air, as they do in hot countries ; and as he was at 
the gate or entrance of the city, he saw two men that looked like 
travellers, and he bowed to them to show them respect, and kind- 
ly asked them into his house, and begged them to stop all night 
and to wash their feet, and then they could go on comfortably in 
the morning. 

In some of the hot countries the people do not wear shoes, but 
what are called sandals, or soles with straps to them, that go over 


child’s commentator. 


52 

the top of the foot to keep them on. These were used by people 
at that time, and after a journey it was very comfortable to wash 
the feet to make them clean and cool. This will explain the 
reason why Lot asked the travellers to wash their feet. 

The travellers now went in with Lot, and he made them a feast, 
that is, gave them to eat ; and his food was very plain, according 
to the custom of those times, and the countries in those parts : all 
they had was a little unleavened bread, or bread made without 
yeast, which ours is made with that it may be light. 

And now the men of the city wanted to become acquainted with 
the strangers, and to make them as wicked as themselves, by 
getting them to join their society ; but Lot went to them, and 
opposed them, and they would have done him harm, “ but the 
men put forth their hands and pulled Lot into the house to them, 
and shut to the door. And they smote the men that were at the 
door of the house with blindness, both small and great : so that 
they wearied themselves to find the door.” 

The angels, seeing what a wicked race of men these were, now 
warned Lot to get all his family together and escape, before God 
destroyed them. Lot had a wife, and two daughters who lived 
with him ; some also were married, but their husbands would 
not believe Lot’s warning, and he was obliged to leave them and 
their husbands behind ; if they had been good people, they would 
not have perished with such a punishment. And in the morn- 
ing, the angels turned away, for he lingered, perhaps in hopes 
of seeing his other children coming, and they said, “ Escape for 
thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain : 
escape to the mountains, lest thou be consumed.” But Lot 
begged that he might go to Zoar, a little city close by; and for 
his sake that city was saved. 

And now the storm began. “ Then the Lord rained upon 
Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord 
out of heaven. And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, 
and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon 
the ground.” 

Some persons, who wrote a long while ago, tell us there were 
thirteen cities in the plain of Sodom, and that Sodom was the 





CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


capital, or largest, as London is of England. These all perished 
but Zoar, where Lot was. 

In a storm of thunder and lightning, there is often a smell of 
brimstone ; but this was more than a common storm. God Al- 
mighty can do any thing ; but, in destroying these places, he 
perhaps made use of some means already at hand, without 
making new ones. There are two cities in the country called 
Italy, which were entirely destroyed by the volcano, or burning 
mountain, Vesuvius ; and the burning and red-hot stuff which it 
spouted out, passed some miles in the air, and fell upon one of 
them and quite smothered it ; the other was smothered by the 
streams of fire that ran from the mountain along the ground like 
melted lend. In the same way, a volcano burst up through the 
ground in the middle of the plain of J orullo in Mexico, and 
the burning hot lava flowed along the ground and set every- 
thing on fire. Just so it may have been with these cities of the 
plain; the pitch or bitumen which was so plenty there would 
soon burn when the fire touched it, and so all the cities and 
their people were burned, and their plain sank down and was 
covered with the waters. The whole country bordering on the 
plain became dry and barren. A part of this plain it is sup- 


54 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


posed is the lower end of the Dead Sea, which is very salt and 
bitter, and has a great deal of sulphur and slime on its shores. 
The valley in which the sea is, is very low, hot, and unhealthy. 

In this dreadful judgment Lot lost his wife. She did not like 
to leave Sodom. Perhaps she thought of her daughters behind, 
or wanted to save her goods, or more likely did not quite believe 
that God was going to burn the place ; and so she stood and 
looked, and the fiery rain fell upon her, and she was killed as she 
stood : and being covered over with what fell, as people are co- 
vered over in a fall of snow, she became a pillar of salt, or salt 
sulphur ! 

When Abraham rose in the morning, he went to a place whence 
he could see where Sodom and Gomorrah had stood ; “ and, lo, 
the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.” 

Here, my dear young reader, you see what an evil and a bit- 
ter thing it is to sin against God, and what a fearful thing it is to 
fall into the hands of the living God. This was a terrible fire ; 
but “ the earth and all the works that are in it,” will by and by 
be burned up, on account of the wickedness which is in the world. 
God spares it for a while, because there are praying people in it, 
like Lot ; but then its end shall come ; and all wicked men, 
women, and children, and — particularly remember — all liars, 
shall have their part in “ the lake which burneth with fire and 
brimstone,” which, because of its many horrors, is the name God 
Almighty gives to the place reserved for the wicked. Pray, 
then, to God, that he would save you from this dreadful place, 
as Lot was saved from burning Sodom, “ the Lord being merciful 
unto him.” • 


THE TWENTY-FIRST CHAPTER OF GENESIS. 

Hagar and Ishmael. 

‘ And God heard the voice of the lad : and the angel of God 
called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth 
thee, Hagar ? fear not ; for God hath heard the voice of the lad 
where he is.” — Yer. 17. 




CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


55 


Besides Sarah, his first wife, Abraham married his maid, named 
Hagar, who was an Egyptian woman. Several of the Patriarchs, 
or good men of that period of the world, had more wives than 
one ; though it is not now allowed, since Jesus Christ said that 
no man should have more than one wife. 

Hagar had a son named Ishmael, and Sarah had a son named 
Isaac. Ishmael was fourteen years older than Isaac, and big 
enough to know better, but he “ mocked” his little brother Isaac, 
and teazed him, when they were probably at play together. Now 
this was not behaving like a good brother ; it was very rude, and 
especially mean, in an elder brother so to treat one so much 
younger than himself ; and it was very likely that such behaviour 
would end in mischief ; for mocking is almost sure to lead to 
quarrelling, and often to something worse. I will tell you what 
the Reverend Matthew Henry, a good minister who lived many 
years ago, says about this affair ; and I hope you will remember 
it : — “ Ishmael was fourteen years older than Isaac ; and when 
children are together, the elder should be careful and tender of 
the younger ; but it argued a very base and sordid disposition in 
Ishmael, to be abusive to a child that was no way a match for 
him.” 

Sarah loved her own son Isaac, and could not bear that he 
should be so treated by his elder brother ; and though she had 
told Abraham to marry Hagar, she did not like her, and this 
behaviour of her son so vexed her that she begged Abraham to 
turn both Hagar and Ishmael out of doors. Perhaps Hagar had 
not brought up Ishmael to behave like a good boy, and this made 
Sarah the more angry. It is a great blessing to have parents 
who teach us to love God, and to love one another. Abraham 
loved both his children : “ and the thing was very grievous in 
Abraham’s sight:” — he was grieved that his children should 
quarrel, and grieved that Sarah should ask him to punish Hagar 
and Ishmael so severely. “ Children ought to consider,” says good 
Mr. Henry again, “ that the more their parents love them, the 
more they are grieved at their miscarriages” — that is, their bad 
behaviour — “ and particularly their quarrels among themselves.” 

But God determined that these children should be the heads of 


child’s commentator. 


56 

great nations, and in his wise providence he caused this affair tr 
bring about what he intended should take place. “ And God said 
unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight.” So then God 
saw Ishmael mocking Isaac. “ God,” says Mr. Henry once more 
“ takes notice what children do in their play, and will reckon 
with them if they say or do amiss, though their parents do not.” 

And so the end of all this was, that Ishmael was turned out of 
doors for his bad ^behaviour, and his mother too, fbr not teaching 
him better. 

And now, from the fourteenth to the nineteenth verses of the 
chapter, you have a very wonderful account of God’s kindness to 
Hagar and Ishmael, when they were cast out. Abraham gave 
Hagar some bread, and a bottle of water, and sent her and her son 
away. And she wandered about in the wilderness, or wild 
country ; and when the water was all drank, and they were faint- 
ing with thirst and fatigue, she cast her son under one of the 
shrubs ; and she sat down at a little distance and wept. And 
the poor boy cried aloud ; “ And God heard the voice of the lad ; 
and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said 
unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar 1 fear not, fbr God hath heard 
the voice of the lad where he is. And God opened her eyes, and 
she saw a well of water ; and she went and filled the bottle with 
water, and gave the lad drink.” Perhaps her eyes were swollen 
with crying, and she could scarcely see ; but now she dried her 
tears, and looked around, and lo ! there was a well which she had 
not seen before, and she and her son did not perish with thirst. 

My dear young friend, wherever we are, there is a good God 
that looks down upon us. If even our friends forsake us, let us 
never forget to trust in God. Perhaps when Hagar “ lifted up 
her voice, and wept,” she also prayed — and so, perhaps, did Ish- 
mael ; for they must have learnt so to do in the dwelling of pious 
Abraham. And God was there, to hear their prayers and their 
cries, and to see their tears. Let this comfort you when you are 
in sorrow, and teach you to pray to God for his help. He will 
then surely bless you, and do you good. 

Note 1. — You must have seen that we first spelt the name of Isaac’s father Abram, and 
then Abraham, for God altered his name. About this you read in the 17th chapter, and 



HAGAR AND ISHMAEL. 







ISAAC MEETING REBEKAH 


♦ 









child’s commentator. 


59 


THE TWENTY-SECOND CHAPTER OF GENESIS. 

Abraham offering up his Son Isaac. 

“ And it came to pass after these things that God did tempt 
Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham ! and he said, Behold, 
here I am. 

“ And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom 
thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah ; and offer 
him there for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains which 
I will tell thee of. 

“ And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his 
ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his 
son, and clave the wood for the burnt-offering, and rose up, and 
went unto the place of which God had told him.” — Vers. 1, 2, 3. 

This is a very affecting story, indeed. You may read the whole 
of it in this chapter, ending with the nineteenth verse. 

Abraham had long wished to have a son when Isaac was born, 
and he was called by the name Isaac, which means Laughter , to 
show how glad the good old man and his aged wife were, to have 
a son to comfort them in their old age, and whom they could both 
love. 

But perhaps they thought of Isaac more than of God ; and it 
they did so, they did that which was very wrong, for we ought to 
love God above all persons or things in the world. Though 
fathers and mothers should love their children, and children 
should love their parents, and brothers, and sisters, and one 
another, yet God must be loved better than all. 

Abraham and Sarah, no doubt, knew all this, and they did 


4th and following verses. Abraham means “ the father of a great multitude and from 
Abraham came all the Jews, who long served God ; and all good men, as they are lika 
Abraham, believe in God, and are called Abraham’s seed, or children. 

Note 2.— You must also have seen that we first spelt the name of Isaac’s mother Sarai, 
and then Sarah ; for in the 17th chap, of Genesis, and 15th and following verses, we learn 
that God changed her name. Sarai means “ my princess,'' but Sarah, “ a princess ;’ for 
when God made her the mother of Isaac, she was to be the mother, or princess of many 
nations, that should be bom of her race ; and especially in her family, in course of time, 
was to be born Jesus Christ, “ the Prince of Peace.” 

3 



60 child’s commentator. 

love God ; but still there might be a danger of their loving Isaac 
so as to give him a share of love that did not belong to him, but 
to God only. 

Now God is jealous of us, if he loves us, and he will have us 
love him. When we say God is jealous, we do not mean as we 
are of one another, because that is a very ugly thing in us ; but 
we mean that he is very watchful to see that we do nothing to 
show him we do not love him better than all creatures ; and he 
deserves our love, for he is better to us than all creatures are. 

Perhaps, therefore, to put Abraham to the trial, and to show 
how far he would go in his love, as well as what real love to God 
can do, “ God did tempt Abraham.” 

To tempt , among us, means to entice one another to do any- 
thing, and very often to do a wrong thing : but here it means 
only to try. God did try Abraham, to prove how much he loved 
him ; and as he had obeyed him in leaving his country and 
kindred when he told him he would still show what more he 
would do ; and knowing that the old man was sincere, he would 
hold him up for a pattern of faith and love to all good people in 
time to come. 

But what was this trial 1 God spake to Abraham, and said, 
“ Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and 
get thee into the land of Moriah and offer him there for a burnt- 
offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.” 
Now, burnt-offerings were slain beasts, whose bodies, laid on the 
altar, were all consumed by fire. 

P oor Abraham ! had God said, I will make thy dear son sick ; 
had he even said, In a few hours Isaac shall die : this would not 
half so much have pained his heart. But to be told to take his 
son for a sacrifice, and to offer him himself, — his only son Isaac ! 
Isaac, whom he loved !— Oh, how dreadful ! When little children 
are sick or die, their parents half break their hearts with grief; 
but what do they suffer compared with poor Abraham, called to 
slay his own dear son ! Perhaps he was struck almost dumb 
with wonder. P erhaps he wept very bitterly. Perhaps he prayed 
that Isaac might be spared. But God’s will must be done, and 
he said nothing against it. 


child’s commentator. 


61 


You may wonder that God should command him to kill his 
son ; and were any one to suppose he had such a command now, 
he would show that he was tempted by the wicked spirit, and not 
tried by the Almighty : but, in those times, God spake in various 
ways to pious men, so that they knew when he did speak ; and 
Abraham knew that he would not order him to do any thing that 
was wrong. 

“ And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his 
ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, 
and clave the wood for the burnt-offering, and rose up, and went 
unto the place of which God had told him.” 

This journey took Abraham three days, so that all this time he 
might have repented and turned back. But Abraham knew that 
God was able to raise up his son, even from the dead ; and as God 
had told him that Isaac should be his heir, he would not dispute 
his word, but went on his way. 

And now he came near the spot, and leaving the young men, 
he went up the mountain. “ And Abraham took the wood of the 
burnt-offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son ; and he took the 
fire in his hand, and a knife ; and they went both of them toge- 
ther.” Oh, what a moment was this for poor Abraham !, in a few 
minutes more, and his dear, dear son Isaac must be killed, and 
bleed like a lamb upon the altar ; so he thought. Who can tell 
how much he was pained at his heart ? but still he obeyed God. 
And if God now tells us to do things difficult for our nature to 
do, still we must obey him. W e must even try to love our ene- 
mies and do them good, because he has told us to do so ; though 
this is very hard to our nature, which likes revenge. 

Isaac had been taught, by his good father, to sacrifice to God, 
as was the custom of those days, and he began to wonder where 
the sacrifice was, and very innocently said, “ My father ; behold 
the fire and the wood : but where is the lamb for a burnt-offer- 
ing?” Oh, how this must have touched the good old man’s 
heart ! Isaac had been a good son, and it was no wonder, then, 
if he dearly loved him. But he could not then make up his 
mind to tell him, and he only said — still, perhaps, hoping that 
God would spare him in the end — “ My son, God will provide 


62 child’s commentator. 

himself a lamb for a burnt-offering so they went both of them 
together. 

And now Abraham built the altar, and laid the wood in order 
— oh, did not his hands and his heart tremble ? And now, 
perhaps, he said with a trembling voice, “ My Isaac, my dearly 
beloved Isaac ! my son ! my own son ! my only son ! thou joy of 
my old age ! Oh, how shall I tell thee — but I must ; thou art 
the sacrifice, and God has required it.” Perhaps, too, he sobbed 
and ceased to speak in the midst of his grief: all this was not 
unlikely. But, perhaps, as he had great faith in God, he shed no 
tear, nor breathed a single sigh. He knew that all he did must 
be right ; at least he had much of such a spirit in him ; and, like 
Abraham, when God afflicts us, we ought to say as J esus Christ 
has taught us, “ Thy will be done.” 

Isaac was a good youth. He was now about twenty years old. 
He had learnt to love and serve God. It does not appear that 
he tried one moment to resist his good old father, who was one 
hundred and twenty years of age. He had gone with delight to 
worship God and join in the sacrifice ; and now he was to be the 
offering — he gave himself willingly up. Oh, how must God love 
such obedient hearts ! 

Here, my dear young reader, let me tell you, that through life 
God will require you to give up many things to him, as he did 
require of Abraham to give up his son. And you must learn to 
do it without a murmur at what he does, for he doth all things 
well. 

Your pious parents and teachers, who know better than you 
what God requires, must also be obeyed. You will never be 
asked by them to give up your life upon the altar, yet you may 
be asked to do many things not quite pleasant to your will ; but 
if they think your doing or not doing any thing is according to 
God’s will, then you will obey them as Abraham’s son obeyed 
him. 

And now “ Abraham stretched forth his hand and took the 
knife to slay his son.” — It is enough. God has tried him. He 
is willing to obey his commands, but God does not want innocent 
blood. “ And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of 



child’s commentator. 


63 


heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham, lay not thine hand upon 
the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him ; for now I know 
that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, 
thine only son, from me.” Now the trial was over. God had 
proved Abraham, and, like pure metal passed through the fire, 
he found him very precious. His faith had not failed. 

“ And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold, 
behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns ; and Abraham 
went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt-offering 
in the stead of his son.” 

Now you hawe read the history, and learnt something from it. 
You see that when God had tried the love of Abraham, he had 
kindness in reserve for him after all, and spared nis son. Isaac 
must then have been dearer to him than ever, and God for his 
goodness dearer to them both. 

This history reminds us of the love of God, in giving his Son, 
his only Son, for a sacrifice for us. “ God so loved the world, that 
he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him 
might not perish, but have everlasting life.” “ He spared not his 
own Son, but freely gave him up for us all!” “Behold the 
Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world.” No 
sacrifice would do in the room of the dear Saviour, when he gave 
himself for us. But it was to point to his sacrifice, and to show 
that one better than all others together, should come, by con- 
stantly reminding good men of it in times past, that Abraham 
and all the pious then offered sacrifices to God. And these never 
ceased till Jesus Christ came, who is called the “ offering once for 
all.” Then all sacrifices were over, for Jesus had bled and died 
for the sins of a guilty world. 

We shall have occasion to return to this subject very often ; at 
present, let us admire the faith of Abraham, and the great love of 
God and of his Son Jesus Christ. 


64 


child’s commentator. 


TWENTY-THIRD CHAPTER OF OENEflU. 

The Death of Sarah. 

“ And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old 

these were the years of the life of Sarah. 

“And Sarah died.” — Vers. 1, 2. 

Though we may be ever so good, and God may love us ever 
so much, we must all die. This, my dear little friends, is on ac- 
count of sin. Had there been no sin, there would have been no 
death ; but the “ wages of sin is death this is what it deserves, 
or earns, just as when you do what you are told not to do, you de- 
serve to be corrected for it : or just as a man who does work, 
receives his pay. 

“ And Sarah died and we also read that “ Abraham came to 
mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her for he was probably at a 
distance, feeding his flocks when she died. It is very affecting 
to Jose our friends. And no doubt Isaac wept for Sarah too. 
And would not you, if you were to lose your dear mother from 
whom you have received so much kindness 1 But if we lose our 
friends, and they and we love Jesus Christ, we may hope to meet 
again in a better world. 

Perhaps you may now have lost a mother, — one that feared 
God, and told you to do the same. Well, you cannot restore 
her, to sit on her knee, and be held by her hand, and have her 
advice any more ; but you may call to mind her prayers and her 
kind words. And you may take the comfort, even if both parents 
are dead, that God still lives, and that if we fear him, he has said, 
“ I will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and 
daughters.” 

We are also told that Abraham bought a burying-place of one 
whose name was Ephron, and he paid for it at the gates of the 
city called Mamre, afterwards known by the name Hebron. The 
gates or ways into the city, like Temple-bar in London, and many 


child’s commentator. 


65 






other archways in other places, had, it is thought, rooms over 
them, where the chief men settled all matters of right among the 
people. Here Abraham agreed for the price, and paid the money 
for the burying-place. “ And Abraham weighed to Ephron the 
silver” he was to pay ; for they did not count out small bits of 
gold and silver for eagles and dollars as we do now, but they 
weighed them out in quantities as we do many other things. 
The weight was four hundred shekels of silver I Perhaps you 
would like to know what a shekel of silver was worth, as you will 
often read of it in Scripture; — it was worth about fifty -six cents; 
and so the field of Machpelah before Mamre, and the burying- 
place in it, cost Abraham about two hundred and fifty dollars. 

Tou may further read in this chapter, that Abraham buried 
his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre, in 
the land of Canaan. It was usual in those times, and in that 
country, to bury people in caves, which were like little chambers, 
cut out of the side of some hill, or vaults bricked or arched over ; 
and here the whole of a family would lie together. This is “ the 
house appointed for all living;” and though we may hav^ no 
other spot on earth, we must all have a burial-place ; or though 
we may own ever so much of the earth, a burial-place must be 
our only lot in the earth at last. 


THE TWENTY-FOURTH CHAPTER OF GENESIS. 

The Marriage of Isaac and ReheJcah . 

“ And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house that 
ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under 
my thigh : 

“ And I will make thee swear by the Lord, the God of heaven, and 
the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my 
son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell : 
“ But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and 
take a wife unto my son Isaac.” — Vers. 2, 3, 4. 

Abraham was now one hundred and forty years old, for he was 
one hundred years old when Isaac was born, and Isaac was forty 


66 


child’s commentator. 


years old when he married Rebekah. Like a kind father, he was 
desirous of his son doing well and being happy in life, and he 
wished to see Isaac married. But as there were people who served 
false gods all around him, he would have his son take care not to 
choose any one of them for a wife ; he therefore called his 
steward, who was the head servant of his house, and no doubt a 
good and faithful man, and he desired him to take an oath, or 
give his solemn word, that he .would go among his relations, 
where the true God was worshipped, and seek him a wife. 

See here how careful Abraham was that his son should have 
nothing to do with wicked people, and that he should not have 
a wife of that kind to live with him. We ought always to take 
care not to live with the wicked, lest they should teach us to do 
wrong. • 

The servant put his hand under Abraham’s thigh ; and this 
was a sign used at that time to show that he swore, or promised 
faithfully, — for by swearing is not meant in this case the use of 
any wicked words ; Abraham was too good a man to want such 
words to be used— he would rather have reproved any one for 
using them. 

And see here, too, what respect good servants deserve from their 
masters and their masters’ children : Abraham trusts this matter 
entirely with his servant, and Isaac no doubt approved of it, for 
he was old enough to have objected. If you have any good and 
faithful servants in your family, thank God for them, and esteem 
them for their good character, and always behave kindly to 
them. 

If any of my little readers should be servants themselves, or 
expect so to be, let them see how much such are respected if they 
are good and honest : for, though Abraham’s servant was one of 
high rank in his house, yet, had he been of lower rank, his good 
conduct would still have secured his master’s regard. 

And now the good servant, having sworn to his master, set out 
on his way to the city of Nahor, or where Nahor lived, who was 
Abraham’s brother. This city was called Haron, and was in the 
country called Mesopotamia. “ And the servant took ten camels, 
of the camels of his master, and departed : for all the goods of his 



child’s commentator. 67 


master were in his hand,” or trusted to his care : and of these, no 
doubt with the advice and permission of Abraham, he took just 
as many as were wanted to answer al] the ends of his journey. 



The camel is a very useful beast in the eastern parts of the 
world, and rich people had then, and still have, great numbers of 
these animals : they are very strong, and will carry very large 
loads — as much as a thousand pounds in weight. Some have two 
humps on their back, and some have one ; they will go long 
iourneys through hot deserts without any water. Abraham’s 
servant took ten of these, laden with presents for the expected 
wife of Isaac, and her friends. 

Having ended his journey of several days, he made his camels 
to kneel down without the city by a well of water, at the time of 
the evening — even the time that women go out to draw water. 

Camels are early taught to kneel, that they may take rest, and 
be loaded and unloaded, as they are very high. They were, in 
this instance, as in others, made to kneel by a well, for the pur 
pose of giving them water. 




The women went to the well in the evening to draw water ; and 
in Arabia, to this day, the women do the same. After they have 
done their work in the house, such as weaving, grinding corn, 
making bread, and other things, they take a pitcher or a goat’s 
skin, and, tying their infants behind them, if they have any, they 
will go two or three miles to the nearest well : for they have not 
got water in plenty, as we have here. 

And now Abraham’s servant prayed to God that he would 
direct, in his providence, that the young woman who should offer 
him and his camels to drink, should be the wife of Isaac. 

We can never hope for a blessing on any thing that we do that 
is important in life, unless we pray to God for it. 

When the servant had done praying, Rebekah, who was the 
daughter of Bethuel, Abraham’s brother’s son, came to the well, 
and brought a pitcher on her shoulder ; and she was very kind, 
and good-natured, and obliging, and did present the servant and 
his camels with water ; and as there were ten camels, it was no 
small trouble. 

And you may also observe that she was very diligent : “ She ' 
went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.” j 
There were probably other damsels or young women there ; but 
she did not waste her time in idling and gossiping, as some do, 
but returned quickly about her business. 

All this must have pleased the good servant, or rather the 
steward ; and with all this we learn that “ the damsel was very 
fair to look upon,” but her beauty would have been nothing, if 
she had not had good temper. 

You must not wonder at Rebekah going to draw the water, for it 
was quite usual then, and in that country, for persons of the first 
rank to be so employed. Industry is no disgrace to any one, 
but idleness always is. 

The steward now hoped that his journey would succeed, and he 
gave Rebekah a golden ear-ring and two bracelets for her arms, 
which together weighed ten shekels and a half, every shekel of 
gold being worth about eighteen shillings. 

The steward next asked her about her relations, and inquired 
if they could give him a lodging for himself and camels. 




In that country it is quite usual still, for those who have large 


houses, or roomy tents, to show the same politeness and hospi- 
tality to travellers. They have large court-yards for the beasts^ 
and plenty of room for any friends or respectable strangers. 

Having so far succeeded, the good man “ bowed down his head, 
and worshipped the Lord,” or thanked God. We ought always 
to thank God for all our comforts. 

And now Rebekah, having learnt who he was, ran and told her 
mother : the women lived in apartments by themselves, as they 
still do in the East. And then her brother Laban soon learnt the 
news ; and he ran out to the man, and invited him in, and told 
him he had room for himself and camels. 

“ And the man came into the house ; and he ungirded his 
camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels, and water 
to wash his feet, and the men’s feet that were with him.” 

I I Good travellers always take great care of their beasts : and 

[ humane people always remember that they are tired, and need 

i il food and rest as well as they do ; and therefore they cannot be 

' J happy till their poor beasts are put to rest, after laboring hard 

I in their master’s service. Laban was aware how much the camels 

needed comfort as well as their master : and hence he instantly 
ordered them what was necessary, as well as water to cool and 
cleanse the feet of the travellers, and food for them also. 

Laban’s father was perhaps dead, or not able to move about 
with age, and so Laban was the acting master of the house. It is 
the custom in the East still for the master to be active in inviting 
his guests. 

And now the steward told about his master’s wealth, and that 
he had a son born in his old age, and what had passed between 
him and his master about Isaac’s marriage, and what he had 
prayed, and what had happened at the well. 

When he had finished, Laban and Bethuel agreed to let 
Rebekah go, as they saw God’s will was in the matter. This 
Bethuel is thought to have been a younger brother of Rebekah, 
and not the father. And they blessed Rebekah, or expressed the 
kindest wishes for her, that she might be comforted in her child 
ren, and that they might be many, and overcome all their enemies. 




CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


70 

“ And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon 
the camels, and followed the man ; and the servant took Rebe- 
kah, and went his way.” 

And it happened that Isaac was walking in the field on the 
evening of their arrival; and seeing them coming, he went 
towards them. And Rebekah inquired of the steward who he 
was ; and as was, and is, the custom of that country, she put a 
veil on her face as a token of modesty on meeting Isaac ; for 
nothing in a female is so lovely as modesty in behaviour. 

And now the different customs required were all gone through, 
and Isaac took Rebekah to be his companion for life ; and he 
loved her : and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death. 

Thus, as one observes, “What is begun in prayer, ends in 
praise.” 

Isaac, it seems, had grieved much at losing his mother ; but 
God can make up for our greatest losses, if we put our trust in 
him; and his father having given her his mother’s tent, he 
found in his beloved Rebekah more than another mother. 


THE TWENTY-FIFTH CHAPTER OF GENESIS. 

The Death of Abraham. 

“ Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, 
an old man, and full of years ; and was gathered to his people. 

“And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of 
Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, 
which is before Mamre ; 

“ The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth : there 
was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife.” — Vers. 8 — 10. 


Here is death again. Abraham gave up the ghost, that is, 
yielded back his spirit to God who gave it ; and he was buried in 
the same tomb with Sarah. Abraham married after he lost Sarah, 
and he lived to be an hundred three score and fifteen years, that 
is, sixty and fifteen years ; making in all one hundred and seventy- 


child’s commentator. 


71 


five years. But this world ended with him, and so it must with 
us all. How foolish would Abraham have been, had he only 
placed his hopes on always keeping his flocks and herds, and all 
the riches which he had ; but Abraham died in faith, and looked 
for durable riches in heaven. Those that live by faith as he did, 
will also die by faith like him, and enjoy his rest. You read, in 
the parable of the Rich Man, that Lazarus was carried by angels 
into Abraham’s bosom, showing us that Abraham was happy, and 
pious Lazarus was made as happy as he. 

It is said lie died of “ a good old age.” My dear little reader, 
it is not every one of whom this can be said ; some people die in 
a bad old age. They have lived all their lives in sin ; and that 
old age which is still spent in sin, is a very bad old age, indeed, 
for it has no good hope beyond the grave. But Abraham had 
spent all his best days in serving God ; he looked back upon them 
with pleasure, and now his old age had become happy and good. 
“ Only fear the Lord and serve him,” and if you live to be old, it 
shall be so with you ; but a sinful life will perhaps prevent you 
from living till old age, or if you do, instead of being a good old 
age, it will be a bad old age, both in body and mind. 

And here, I must tell you, that Abraham, though a good man, 
had his faults. You will often read of the faults of good men, as 
you read your Bible ; and they are told you for two reasons : 
first, that you should avoid them, and not commit the same ; and 
secondly, to show that God would not hide them, and that he was 
displeased with them, and often corrected good men severely for 
them. But while others live in sin, these did not commit those 
faults again, and were sorry for them ; and their virtues shone so 
brightly, that their faults were only like the spots in the sun, 
very faint and very few, compared with their excellences. 

In the twentieth chapter of Genesis, we find Abraham, contrary 
to that faith or trust which he had in God, guilty, not indeed of 
telling a lie, but of keeping back the truth when he ought to 
have spoken it, which was no credit to him. He went into the 
country of king Abimelech, and as he foolishly feared that the 
king might take his wife Sarah, and make her a queen, she being 
very beautiful, he told her to say she was his sister. This was so 



72 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR 


far true, for they had both the same father, but not the same 
mother; but then it implied that. she was not his wife. And he 
had nearly brought himself, and Sarah, and the king, into great 
distress, by his mistrust of God’s care in this instance. 

But while we read of these faults and follies in good men, as 
faithfully told in the Bible, let it lead us to pray to God to keep 
us from doing the same, and to ask his grace that we may imitate 
their numerous virtues. 

Isaac and Ishmael buried their father with all due regard for 
his memory ; for “ the memory of the just is blessed even 
Ishmael paid this respect to the remains of his father, though 
Ishmael was not a good man. Thus we learn that we should 
honour our parents ; and as you would have your children honour 
you, if you live to be fathers and mothers, so respect their dust, 
and commit it with decency and solemnity to the tomb. 



i 


THE TWENTY-FIFTH CHAPTER OF GENESIS, 


Esau selling his Birthright 


“ And the boys grew : and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of 
the field ; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents. 

“ And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison ; but 
Rebekah loved Jacob. 

“And Jacob sod [or boiled] pottage ; and Esau came from the 
field, and he was faint. 

“ And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that said 
red pottage, for I am faint: therefore was his name called 
Edom [or Red.] 

“ And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birth right. 

“ And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die ; and what 
profit shall this birth-right do to me ? 

“ And Jacob said, Swear to me this day ; and he sware unto 
him : and he sold his birth-right unto Jacob. 

M Then J acob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles ; and he 






CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way ; thus Esau 

despised his birth-right.” — Vers. 27 — 34. 

Here is a new race springing up : thus “ one generation passeth 
away” like a shadow, “ and another generation cometh.” Rebekah 
is now introduced to us as the mother of Esau and Jacob : these 
differed in their pursuits ; Esau loved hunting, and was cunning 
in laying his snares to catch his game, while Jacob was a plain 
man, watching his flocks and his herds. 

Esau and Jacob were twins; but Esau having been born 
a few moments before Jacob, he was reckoned the elder bro- 
ther. 

Now to the elder brother, among the Hebrews, belonged many 
benefits : among the rest, he had honour paid him next to his pa- 
rents ; he had a double portion of the inheritance ; and the Mes- 
siah, or Jesus Christ, was to be born, in time, of his family — a 
blessing of the greatest price. 

Jacob aimed to get the birth-right, or privileges of the first- 
born ; and it appears from another part of this book, that his 
mother, being fond of him, wished him to have it, and no doubt 
set Jacob to watch his moment to supplant his brother. This 
affair began wrongly, caused much trouble, and shows that 
children are not always the most happy if their parents are so 
unwise as to love one better than another ; therefore wise parents 
love all alike. Besides, if God designed Jacob to have the birth- 
right, he would have had it without outwitting his brother. 

This is a blot in Jacob’s character ; and it afterwards led to 
another, as one bad thing generally does. But J acob turned out 
an excellent man at last ; we must therefore follow that which 
was good in him, and not dwell on his faults. 

Esau, however, deserved to lose his birth-right, for he did not 
seem to set much value upon it, when he sold it for a paltry mess 
of pottage. N o doubt he could have got something else in his 
mother’s house ; but, on reaching home, hungry and tired after 
hunting, nothing else would suit his fancy but Jacob’s mess which 
he had been preparing ; and so Jacob, seizing the opportunity, 
made his bargain, and tricked poor Esau. 



74 child’s commentator. 

Jacob’s pottage was made of len tiles — what were they ? A kind 
of bean which is still used in those parts, and makes a drink, 
looking red, something like coffee : and for this “ Esau despised 
his birth-right.” 

But many who blame Esau do worse than he. They cannot 
have the sins and follies of this world, and heaven ; but they pre- 
fer the silly things called pleasures, and risk the happiness of 
religion ; and so, as Esau, for one morsel of meat they sell their 
heavenly inheritance, and lose that good part which shall not be 
taken away from them. 


THE TWENTY-SIXTH CHAPTER OF GENESIS. 

Isaac's Prosperity. 

“ And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew, until 
I . he became very great, 

jSi “For he had possession of flocks, possession of herds, and great 
; y store of servants : and the Philistines envied him.” — Vers. 13 , 

I 14. 


This chapter chiefly tells us of Isaac’s prosperity. God had 
promised to bless him, and he did bless him. 

But Isaac committed another fault, like Abraham, when he 
went in a famine to get food at the same place, called Gerar ; and 
lest Rebekah should be taken away from him, he also would not 
own her as his wife. 

This is a speck on Isaac’s good character, and should teach us, 
my dear young reader, that if such good men as Abraham and 
Isaac did such very wrong things, we ought to be very careful 
indeed, and to pray to God to keep us from doing what must be 
sure to displease him. Isaac, indeed, thought to prevent evil by 
what he did ; but, though this may seem to excuse him, we must 
not do evil even that good may come. 


J 






JACOB’S DREAM 







ISAAC BLESSING JACOB. THE RECONCILIATION OF ESAU AND JACOB 






THE TWENTY-SEVENTH CHAPTER OF GENESIS, 

Isaac blessing Jacob.. 


1 And he [Isaac] said [to Esau,] Thy brother [Jacob] came with 
subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing.” — Ver. 35. 


The following is the history in this chapter : — 

Isaac was now very old ; it is reckoned that he must have been 
about one hundred and seventeen years of age, and that Jacob 
was about fifty-seven. The old man’s eyes were grown nearly 
blind with age. He thought that, from the length of years he 
had lived, his life could not last much longer. He therefore de- 
sired his son Esau to come and take the blessing which belonged 
to the first-born. 

As a proof of his obedience to his father, he asked him to get 
him some of his nice meat, which he killed with the bow and 
arrow : and when he had prepared it, he was to have the blessing. 

This blessing was a very solemn thing. It was what parents 
used to give to their children when they were about to die and 
leave them behind ; and the patriarchs had a spirit of prophecy 
given them from heaven, so that what they said foretold what 
was to come to pass respecting their families. The first-born al- 
ways had a right to the best blessing. 

Now, Rebekah heard what Isaac said to Esau, and, as Jacob 
was her favorite son, she resolved that he should try and get the 
blessing. There is some excuse for her conduct, because she had 
been told from God himself, in a particular way, respecting her 
sons before they were born, “ The elder shall serve the younger” 
— yet not excuse enough for her to tell Jacob to do that which 
was wrong, to bring about what God had promised. This was 
very foolish ; and because she did wrong, she was punished after- 
wards by many troubles which sprung out of this very affair, like 
bitter branches out of a bitter root. 

Rebekah told Jacob to take two kids from his flocks and let 
her have them, and she would make savoury meat of them for 


U 


78 



CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 

Isaac ; and he should go to him under the pretence that he was 
Esau, and offer the meat, and get the blessing ; for as Isaac was 
almost blind, he could not see his face clearly. 

Jacob, however, remembered that Esau was a strong man, 
covered with hair ; and he thought, that, if his father touched 
him, he would find out that it was not Esau, and that he would 
be so displeased at his trying to deceive him, that he would curse 
him instead of blessing him. 

But his mother encouraged him ; and to make his skin like 
Esau’s, she fitted some goat-skins to his hands and his neck : for 
the goats in the East have very delicate hair, which might by its 
feel pass for that on a strongman’s skin. 

And now Jacob made haste with the meat, and took it to his 
father before Esau could come home from hunting. And he said, 
“ I am Esau, thy first-born ; I have done according as thou badest 
me : arise, I pray thee ; sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul 
may bless me.” 

O Jacob ! Jacob ! thou couldst not be Esau — thy father never 
told thee to dress the savoury meat ! God may pardon thy sin 
at this time ; but thou shalt feel that sin and sorrow go toge- 
ther. Thou shalt be deceived, as thou hast deceived thy father ; 
and for this act thou shalt be banished from thy home, and be 
afraid of thy life. Always speak the truth, my dear young read- 
er, for it will bring peace and happiness in the end. 

However, Jacob did succeed in getting the blessing. His father 
suspected his voice; but his raiment smelt of the sweet perfumes 
of Esau’s garments, which it is thought were used to keep them 
from moths, and of which his mother had procured one from his 
chests on this occasion — perhaps a garment kept for the elder 
sons. 

So Isaac ate of his ^meat and drank of his wine ; which, it is 
thought, was a kind of religious rite before pronouncing the 
blessing. “ And his father Isaac said, Come near now, and kiss 
me, my son. And he came near, and kissed him : and he smelled 
the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell 
of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed.” 
That is, his garments smelt like a field in which sweet spices grow 




child’s commentator. 


79 


in abundance, through God’s blessing on the soil, as we smell the 
sweet-scented bean-field when it is in full flower. He added, 
“ Therefore, God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness 
of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine !” It rains only at 
particular times in that part of the world ; but then God sends 
heavy dews, something like such as we have about three or four 
o’clock on a summer’s morning, but much thicker ; and these 
falling upon the fields make them rich in crops, yielding corn to 
grind for bread, and grapes to make wine. 

Isaac further said, “ Let people serve thee, and nations bow 
down to thee : be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother’s 
sons bow down to thee ; cursed be every one that curseth thee, 
and blessed be he that blesseth thee.” 

Scarcely had Jacob left Isaac when Esau returned, and he has- 
tened to his father with his savoury meat. 

But now he was justly punished for selling his birth-right ; 
notwithstanding which, and though he had taken an oath to part 
with it for the red pottage, he tried to obtain it. 

And the old man was all in a tremble. And he asked hastily 
who had deceived him ; but, being governed by a spirit of pro- 
phecy, that is, having spoken by the guidance of God, he said of 
Jacob, “ I have blessed him ; yea, and he shall be blessed.” 

Poor Esau now cried bitterly, and he said, “ Bless me, even 
me also, O my father : hast thou not reserved a blessing for me ?” 

And Isaac gave him a blessing also : but it was not that of the 
first-born : he lost his birth-right. 

My dear young reader, seek the blessing of your heavenly 
Father's peculiar favor. Ask him to grant you his loving- 
kindness, which is better than life. There is no fear in seeking 
this, that the blessing is given to another, and cannot be given to 
you. God has always the best of blessings in store for them that 
ask him. “ Ask, and it shall be given you ; seek and ye shall find.” 

You will be much interested by reading the whole of this 
chapter, and those chapters connected with it. 




80 



child’s commentator. 


THE TWENTY-EIGHTH CHAPTER OF GENESIS. 


Jacob's Dream. 

“ And he dreamed, and, behold, a ladder set upon the earth, and 
the top of it reached to heaven ; and, behold, the angels of 
God ascending and descending on it. 

*• And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord 
God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac : the land 
whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed.” — 
Vers. 12, 13. 


I Esau was in the greatest rage on account of the loss of his 
birth-right, and as he expected that his father would soon die, he 
> being very old, he vowed that he would then kill his brother. 

=1 Rebekah was told what he said, and Jacob, by her advice, fled 

7 for safety to his uncle Laban, at Haran ; but, before he left, Isaac 

I bade him farewell, and renewed his blessing at parting. 

Here the blessing was doubly given him, but as he did wrong 
things to get it, and was told by his mother to do them, he was 
punished by being driven away from his home, and she by losing 
her beloved son. 

Isaac also gave Jacob a charge that he should not take any 
one for a wife that did not serve the true God, and that he should 
therefore try and marry one of Laban’s daughters. Esau knew 
this, and to vex his father, like a wicked man, he went directly 
and married a wicked woman. 

But Jacob was a good man, though he had not done right in 
the way in which he tried to get the blessing, which God had said 
should be his. And though God would make him feel on account 
of his faults, yet he would pardon him and bless him, as he does 
all them that truly repent. 

“ And Jacob went out from Beersheba,” where Isaac and Re- 
bekah now li ved, “ and went towards Haran. And he lighted upon 
a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was 




child’s commentator. 


81 


set : and ht took of the stones of that place, and put them for his 
pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.” 

Jacob’s bed was very hard, and in this country we should find 
such a one likely to give a man his death, after travelling all day 
forty-eight miles, which is thought by learned travellers to be the 
distance he went : but it is very common even now for travellers 
in those parts to sleep in the open air, which is not always un- 
healthy, as it is here on account of cold and damp ; besides, 
“ Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents,” and his hardy nature 
made him feel less the want of the comforts of home. 

And, whilst Jacob was asleep, he dreamed the dream men- 
tioned in the verses we just now read. 

This was one way in which the Lord spake to the Patriarchs, 
and Jacob could know that it was divine, and no common dream. 
The ladder which he saw reaching from heaven to earth, and 
which was full of angels, or heavenly messengers, going up and 
down, will show us as well as Jacob, that God’s angels watch over 
us when we sleep, especially if we cast ourselves into God’s care ; 
and how must Jacob’s heart have been strengthened, when God 
nimself then spoke and said, “ Behold, I am with thee, and will 
keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee 
again unto this land ; for I will not leave thee, until I have done 
that which I have spoken to thee of.” 

This event was very comforting to Jacob ; and as we ought to 
remember the mercies of God at all times, he set up a stone on 
the spot, that he might know it when at any distant time he 
should return home; and he poured oil upon it, probably in 
token that there he would build an altar to worship God ; for 
“ he called the name of that place Bethel,” which means the house 
of God , for there he had seen God, and there he hoped again to 
see him in his gracious goodness towards him. “ And Jacob 
vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and keep me in this 
way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put 
on, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace ; then shall 
the Lord be my God not that he meant he should not be his 
God if he did not do all these things for him, for Jacob showed 
he would have no other God by resolving to take no wife but one 





82 


CHILD'S COMMENTATOR. 


that would serve God ; but he meant that then he would make a 
particular mention of him, and delare what a God his God was. 
This appears from what he further says: “This stone which 1 
have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house : and of all that thou 
shalt give me, I will surely give the tenth unto thee.” 

My dear young reader, you are not perhaps turned out of house 
and home ; you have a kind parent, or kind parents and friends, 
to take care of you, and everything promises you future food and 
raiment. But remember that your dear parents may die, and 
leave you alone in the world, like Jacob on his journey. You are 
perhaps left alone, a poor orphan, a child without father and 
mother, and perhaps cast upon the world, so that by and by you 
must get your bread by hard labor: then in either case remem- 
ber Jacob ; look to God Almighty for “ bread to eat, and raiment 
to put on,” and he will be sure to raise you up friends ; he will 
never leave you nor forsake you ; and if God ever blesses you 
with money, remember too that you ought to do something to 
help forward the honour of his name in the world, by aiding 
those causes which are designed to spread abroad the knowledge 
of the only true God among ignorant and lost mankind ; for 
Jacob said, “ Of all that thou shalt give me, I will surely give the 
tenth unto thee.” 


THE TWENTY-NINTH CHAPTER OF GENESIS. 

Jacob and Laban . 

“And Laban said unto Jacob, Because thou art my brother, 
shouldst thou therefore serve me for nought 1 tell me, what 
shall thy wages be % 

“ And Laban had two daughters : the name of the elder was 
Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 

“ Leah was tender-eyed ; but Rachel was beautiful and well- 
favored. 

“ And Jacob loved Rachel, and said, I will serve thee seven years 
for Rachel, thy younger daughter.” — Yers. 15 — 18. 


83 



child’s commentator. 

J acob, now knowing well that God would protect him, went 
on gladly to Haran, or “ The Land of the People of the East,” 
as it lay east of Canaan. 

On coming to Haran he saw a well — perhaps the same where 
Abraham’s servant stopped ; and there is a well near that spot 
still, called by some Jacob’s Well, although Jacob was there 
between three and four thousand years ago. There he also 
stopped ; and there were flocks of sheep resting near it, waiting 
for water, attended by their shepherds. 

Jacob very civilly spoke to the shepherds, and asked if they 
knew Laban. They told him that they did know him — that he 
was well, and that Rachel, his daughter, was then coming with 
her father’s sheep, to get water for them. 

Jacob rolled away the great stone which covered the well, to 
keep the water clean, “ and watered the flock of Laban, his 
f mother’s brother.” 

i He then kissed his dear relation, Rachel, telling her who he 
j 3j was ; and she ran and told her father. 

Laban hastened to the well, and was glad to see Jacob, and 
| asked him to go home with him. 

, » Jacob then told him “ all these things — that he had got his 
brother’s birth-right — that Esau had for this cause said that he 
would kill him — that he had come there for safety — that God had 
appeared to him by the way in a dream, and had promised to 
protect him and prosper him — that he had met with Rachel at 
the well — and that he had come to take a wife from out of his 
family. 

Laban' told him that he might live with him and mind his 
flocks ; but he should have wages for his work. 

As Jacob had no presents to make for his daughter, according 
to the custom of the country, he told his uncle that he would 
serve him seven years, if he would agree that Rachel should then 
become his wife. 

When the seven years were gone, Jacob said, “ Give me my 
wife,” — but his uncle cheated him, and gave him Leah. He, 
however, promised him Rachel, if he would serve seven years 
more. 



84 


child’s commentator. 


Here you see that Jacob, having cheated Isaac by pretending 
to be Esau, was just served in the same way by Laban, who gave 
him Leah instead of Rachel. Unfair dealings will always come 
home in the end to those who are guilty of them. Learn, my 
young reader, to do all things openly and honestly, as good peo- 
ple ought to do them, and not by mean craft and cunning, which 
is a disgrace to him who shows it. 

After seven days’ feasting, as was usual, Jacob had also Rachel 
for his wife, for whom he was to serve another seven years. 

You have been told before, that more wives than one were 
then allowed, though not now. 

Jacob, after a while, was the father of a large family. 


THE THIRTIETH CHAPTER OF GENESIS. 

Jacob and his Flocks . 

“And it came to pass, when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob 
said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own 
place, and to my country. 

“ Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served 
thee, and let me go : for thou knowest my service which I have 
done thee. 

“ And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour 
in thine eyes, tarry : for I have learned by experience that the 
Lord hath blessed me for thy sake. 

“ And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it.” — Vers. 

25 — 28 . 


The fourteen years which Jacob had engaged to serve for Ra- 
chel and Leah being expired, he wanted to return to see his fa- 
ther ; having got no other reward for very bard service than 
Laban’s daughters, with their families. 

But Laban did not like to part with Jacob, for God had blessed 
him for Jacob’s sake. It is a great blessing to be connected with 
really good people. 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


85 

Now Laban knew that Jacob was not a covetous man, as he 
himself was, and that he would not ask him too much for his 
services ; so he said to him, “ Appoint me,” or fix “ thy wages, 
and I will give it.” 

Then said Jacob, you shall give me all the speckled and spotted 
goats and sheep that may from this time be brought forth among 
the flocks. Some think that he chose this colour because the 
shepherds of Canaan were fond of it. Laban was quite pleased 
with the bargain, and readily agreed to it ; for he thought that 
if all the speckled and spotted sheep and goats then in the flock 
were removed, it would be a long time before Jacob would have 
many for his services. “ And he removed that day the he-goats 
that were ring-straked and spotted, and all the she-goats that were 
speckled and spotted, and every one that had some white in it, 
and all the brown among the sheep, and gave them into the hands 
of his sons. And he set three days’ journey,” — that is, three 
days’ journey for cattle which do not travel very fast, — “ betwixt 
himself and Jacob. And Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks” — 
that is, all those that had no spots or marks upon them, being 
entirely white ; and which, as cattle produce after their kind, 
were only likely to bring forth white lambs and kids : so great 
was Laban’s jealousy, lest any of those should mix with the rest 
of the flock, to the advantage of Jacob. 

And now a fine bargain Jacob has made for himself! Is this 
his providing for his own house, to put it upon such an uncer- 
tainty % If these cattle bring forth, as usually cattle do, young 
ones of the same colour with themselves, he must still serve for 
nothing, and be a drudge and a beggar all the days of his life. 
But Jacob trusted in God. 

Now Jacob knew a method, which it is supposed was used by 
the shepherds in Canaan, who were reputed to be fond of speckled 
coloured sheep, by which he could cause many of the flocks to 
bring forth of mixed colours ; but in this he could not have suc- 
ceeded but by the divine blessing, and, therefore, he ascribes it all 
to God. Indeed, though we may be ever so skilled in what we 
do, we ought always to remember, that without God’s blessing, 
all our skill will never prosper us. It is this that maketh rich, 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


86 

and acdeth no sorrow thereto. Jacob, therefore, used this me* 
thod, and “ took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel, and 
chesnut tree ; and pilled white strakes in them,” as we do when 
we tear strips of the bark from a green stick, u and made the 
white appear which was in the rods. And he set the rods which 
he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering 
troughs when the flocks came to drink. And the flocks brought 
forth cattle ring-straked, speckled, and spotted.” So that, instead 
of producing white lambs and kids for Laban, the flocks produced 
those which were spotted and striped. This was very strange, 
but so it was ; and so Jacob prospered. 

Some think he was to blame for what he did, as he might be 
thought to have tricked his uncle, who had hoped to trick him, 
which would have been showing a cunning unworthy of an honest 
man ; but as it was to do himself justice where it had not been 
done, and he relied for the success of his plan wholly upon God, 
he is generally thought not to deserve any blame. 

So we learn, “ the man increased exceedingly, and had much 
cattle, and maid-servants, and men-servants, and camels, and 
asses.” 


THE THIRTY-FIRST CHAPTER OF GENESIS. 

Jacob's escape from Laban. 

“ And the Lord said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy 
fathers, and to thy kindred ; and I will be with thee.” — Ver. 3. 


Laban and his sons, seeing how Jacob prospered, put on very 
black looks towards him. Being under the divine direction, and 
having consulted his wives upon the subject, he therefore re- 
solved to quit Laban, and return to Canaan. 

“ Then J acob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon 
camels ; and he carried away all his cattle, and all his goods 
which he had gotten, the cattle of his getting, which he had 
gotten in Padan-aran [or Mesopotamia], for to go to Isaac his 
father in the land of Canaan.” 

“ And it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob was fled. 


child’s commentator. 


87 

And he took his brethren with him, and pursued after him seven 
days’ journey ; and they overtook him in the mount Gilead,” 
a distance of three hundred and eighty miles from Haran. 

Laban might have designed to bring Jacob back by fair pro- 
mises, or else to have avenged himself upon him in case of re- 
fusal, but “ God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, 
and said unto him, Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either 
good or bad.” 

Laban, therefore, only accused Jacob of running away from 
him, and of taking away his gods. 

For Rachel, unknown to Jacob, had stolen some things sup- 
posed to have been images or brass-work, which Laban used to 
consult like a conjuror, to know what would come to pass. Pro- 
bably, Rachel knew better than to suppose that they were of any 
use, but wished to take such silly things from her deluded father. 
He, therefore, supposing that Jacob had got thepi, said, “ Where- 
fore hast thou stolen my gods V' “ Foolish man ! to call those his 
gods that could be stolen !” And yet, my dear young reader, there 
are millions of your fellow-creatures, in distant parts of the world, 
who now worship as gods things of the most absurd kind, made 
of wood and other articles, and know nothing of Jesus Christ, the 
only Saviour of perishing sinners. One of these idol Gods, 
worshipped by millions of people in India, is shown in the picture. 







Do you not pity the poor creatures who can call this a god 1 
and will you not do all in your power to send them the news of 
a divine Saviour ? 

Laban searched everywhere for his gods, but could not find 
them ; and he made Jacob angry by his rude behaviour : how- 
ever, if Jacob was wrong in being angry, Laban was not less so 
in provoking him by his bad conduct. 

Jacob told him how hard a master he had been, for he had 
made him pay for the cattle torn by wild beasts and stolen ; he 
had had fourteen years’ service for his two daughters, and six years’ 
for the cattle, and had changed his wages no less than ten times ; 
being never contented with his bargains : so that if God had not 
prospered him, he would never have had anything for all his labour. 

Laban, notwithstanding, took the praise of having made Jacob 
rich ; and Jacob, not being disposed to quarrel with him, let him 
say what he pleased. 

Laban then proposed an agreement between them, which Jacob 
was very ready to make ; and they set up some stones as a mark, 
and gave a promise that they would never pass those stones with 
designs to do harm to each other ; and “ the God of Abraham” 
was asked to witness the promise : for wherever we are, we are 
under God’s eye, and he knows all that we say and do. They also 
offered a sacrifice and ate bread together, as a proof that they both 
parted friends. Thus the quarrel ended, and God protected Jacob. 

“ And early in the morning Laban rose up and kissed his sons,” 
• — that is, in this place, grandsons, — “and his daughters, and 
blessed them : and Laban departed, and returned unto his place.” 


THE THIRTY-SECOND CHAPTER OF GENESIS. 

Jacob and the Angels. 


“ And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.” 

Ver. 1. 


Angels are God’s servants, to protect them that trust in him, 
and these spirits were made known to Jacob to encourage him in 
his journey. 




Now Jacob had great need of this encouragement, for he had 
to pass by the way in which he might meet with his brother 
Esau ; and remembering how he had obtained his birth-right, and 
therefore, how much reason Esau had to be angry, he was afraid 
of his vengeance — Esau not being a good man. 

“ And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother 
unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom.” These were to tell 
him of his long absence, and troubles under a hard master, that 
Esau’s heart might be softened. They were also to speak of his 
prosperity, that he might not suppose that he wanted more of 
him ; and to address him from Jacob in language of respect, and 
express his wish that they might meet each other as brothers. 

The messengers returned, and said that Esau was coming, and 
four hundred men with him. 

Poor Jacob was now sadly frightened ; for he feared that his 
brother would kill him and the children, and take all that he had. 

He therefore divided the people and flocks into two bands, so 
that if he fell upon one, the other might have time to escape ; and 
so, his wife and children being in the hindmost band, he might 
save their lives. 

He also prayed to God to protect him, for all our wisdom or 
courage cannot protect us in danger without God’s care. 

He then thought that he would send presents to his brother, to 
gain his good will : and after a night had passed away full of 
much care, he ordered servants to go one after another with 
different droves of cattle of various sorts, amounting in all to the 
number of five hundred and eighty ; which, when they met Esau, 
they were to tell him were sent by his brother for his acceptance. 

“ So went the present over before him,” and another night 
passed. 

And now having passed his family over the river Jabbok, 
Jacob was left alone on the side nearest to Haran, and here an 
angel of God met him. How he conversed with and wrestled 
with the angel, as related in the chapter, it is not possible to say, 
but so it was : and before they parted, the angel gave him the 
name of Israel, or a Prince of God , and blessed him. 




child’s commentator. 


91 


kiss one another when offended — and especially brothers and 
sisters ; and such acts of tenderness must yield a pleasure which 
none can know but those who practice them. 

Next Jacob’s family approached Esau, and bowed themselves 
also, and then Jacob offered his presents to his brother. 

But Esau, not being covetous, wanted nothing to reconcile him. 
Here Esau looks very amiable, notwithstanding his former rage ; 
and many men may have amiable dispositions, who do not, after 
all, love and serve God. This should make us look very closely 
at our hearts ; and if people call you good children, because you 
behave well, are good-tempered, and are dutiful to your parents, 
do not mistake all this for religion, for it is only a small part of 
it ; as real religion requires us to love and serve God with the 
best affections of our hearts. 

Jacob, however, was not quite sure of his brother’s sincerity, 
and, perhaps, feared that when the first warm feeling of his heart 
had been shown, it would grow cooler, and he might be in danger ; 
he therefore said, “ Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in 
thy sight, then receive my present at my hand : for therefore I 
have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God,” — 
meaning that it was pleasant, as a sight of God’s favour is also 
pleasant, — “ and thou wast pleased with me.” In Eastern coun- 
tries, if a present be offered to a superior, and he will not take it, 
there is much to fear from his refusal ; but if he accept it, it is a 
mark of his favour and protection, and there is nothing to fear. 

Jacob also wished to give his brother something in token of 
kindness, and in return for the harm he had formerly done him. 
“ And he urged him, and he took it J acob at the same time 
adding his blessing, — showing that he wished him all happiness 
and prosperity. 

Esau now offered either to keep him company, or to leave 
some servants behind as a guard of honour or safety, that he 
might look more grand, or be protected against dangers ; but this 
Jacob did not need, and so they parted. 

Jacob went for a while to a place called Succoth, and after- 
wards he removed to “ Shalem, a city of Shechem,” and there he 
bought some land for the use of his cattle. 




child’s commentator. 93 


or something of value to the parents for taking away their 
daughters for wives, Shechem offered any sum that might be 
asked. 

Jacob’s sons pretended to agree, but on one condition, which 
was, that the Shechemites should practise the religious forms of 
the Hebrews. To this, Hamor and his son consented ; and sc 
did all the people, out of regard to their prince, who seems, not- 
withstanding his carrying away Dinah, to have had some good 
qualities ; for he wished to do all he could to show respect to 
her and her family, and to express his sorrow for having done 
what was wrong. And here we may learn a good lesson — always 
to make haste and repair any injury we may have done to others ; 
though it is still better to avoid doing them any injury at all. 

The Shechemites, having fulfilled their agreement, and sub- 
mitted to the religious customs of the Hebrews, fully relied on 
their good faith ; but, when they were quite off their guard, two 
of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brethren, took 
each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all 
the males, and rescued their sister. And “ they took their sheep, 
and their oxen, and their asses, and that which was in the city, 
and that which was in the field. And all their wealth, and all 
their little ones, and their wiyes took they captive, and spoiled 
even all that was in the house.” 

This was a treacherous and cruel act on the part of Jacob’s 
sons, and he could not but be very angry at it. It was, indeed, 
just in God to permit the Shechemites so to perish, for they had 
only become religious for the sake of pleasing their prince, and 
benefiting by their union with the Hebrews; so that their 
religion was all a pretence : and God hates hypocrisy, or people’s 
pretending to be what they are not, especially in religion. Take 
care, my young reader, that you are sincere in worshipping and 
serving God. 

But as far as it respected Jacob’s sons doing this act, it was 
very wicked, for they broke their faith with the Shechemites, and 
good people should always keep their word ; and besides that, 
they punished a whole city for the fault of one man, which was 
making the innocent to suffer with the guilty. 




child’s commentator. 


94 

Jacob feared now for the honour of religion, as well as for the 
safety of his family : for who after this would be likely to trust 
an Israelite ? and if God did not particularly guard him, all the 
tribes round about might fall upon him, to revenge so cruel a 
deed. 

Jacob remembered this to his last hour; and on his dying bed 
he said, “ Simeon and Levi are brethren ; instruments of cruelty 
are in their habitations. Oh, my soul, come not thou into their 
secret ; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united.” 


THE THIRTY-FIFTH CHAPTER OF GENESIS. 

Jacob and the strange Gods. 

“Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with 
him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be 
clean, and change your garments : 

“ And let us arise, and go up to Bethel ; and I will make there 
an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, 
and was with me in the way which I went.” — Ver. 2, 3. 


While Jacob was perplexed about the cruel conduct of his sons 
Simeon and Levi, and afraid lest it should bring a host’ of enemies 
upon him, God appeared to him, and commanded him to remove 
to Bethel. 

Jacob then ordered all the false gods to be put out of his 
family, which it is supposed that the servants he brought from 
Syria, when he left Laban, had kept among them, and, perhaps, 
some had been brought from the Shechemites. 

And here, while we are speaking of false gods, I may tell you 
a little tale or fable, which you know is not exactly true, but is 
an amusing way of showing, in a fancied form, what is real. 

The J ews have a number of stories of this kind, which have 
been repeated among them from time to time for many hundreds 
of years, and may, perhaps, have a little truth in them ; but they 




have got altered so in a course of time, as, perhaps, to have lost 
nearly, if not quite, the whole of their original form. 

1 will tell you one of their stories in this place, which will 
amuse you, and, at the same time, serve to show the folly of wor- 
shipping heathen gods. 

They said that Terah, the father of Abraham, was an idolater, 
and likewise a dealer in, and maker of, idols. It chanced one 
time, that Terah went on a journey, and left Abraham, to take 
care of, and dispose of, the idols during his absence. 

You will remember again, my young reader, that this is only a 
story made by the Jews, and is not in the Bible. 

When a man came to purchase an idol, Abraham asked him his 
age. When the man had answered him, Abraham replied, “ Can 
it be possible, that a person of your years can be so stupid as to 
worship that which was made but yesterday ?” The man, being 
quite overwhelmed with shame, hung down his head and de- 
parted. In this manner he served several. At length there came 
an old woman, with a measure of fine flour in her hand, which 
she told him she had brought as an offering to all the idols. 
Abraham at this was exceedingly wroth, and took a large stick, 
and broke all the idols, except the largest, which he left whole, 
and put the stick into his hand. 

When Terah returned, and perceived all the idols broken, ho 
asked Abraham how that came to pass ? Abraham informed him, 
“ That there came an old woman, and brought an offering of fine 
flour to the idols ; upon which they immediately fell together by 
the ears for the prize, when the large one killed them all with the 
stick which he held in his hand.” 

Terah, feeling the full force of the satire, or ridicule, was very 
angry indeed, and immediately had Abraham before Nimrod, in 
order to have him punished for the contempt shown to his gods. 

Nimrod commanded him to worship his deities ; which Abra- 
ham refusing, Nimrod had him immediately thrown into a fiery 
furnace, from which he came out unhurt. Thus ends the story. 

Jacob now ordered the garments of his people also to be 
changed, for, perhaps, many of them were stained with blood in 
the late cruel affair. 






96 child’s commentator. 

He likewise took away a quantity of ear-rings, which were 
either stuck in the ears of the false gods, or worn by the people 
as charms to protect them, as they thought, from danger ; and 
these he buried with the strange gods under an oak tree, near She- 
chem, that nobody might have them any more. 

And though Jacob was now in as much or more danger than 
he was formerly from Esau, yet God made the people around 
afraid of touching him ; and so he escaped, and went to Bethel, 
and there he praised and worshipped God, and set up a pillar, as 
we build monuments, in remembrance of his goodness. 

J acob then removed from Bethel, and on his journey Benjamin 
was born, and Rachel his mother died. This chapter also tells us 
that Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died ; and that Isaac died, aged 
one hundred and eighty years : he was a good and peaceable man. 
Esau and Jacob, being reconciled, united in burying their good 
4 old father. 

Thus one after another goes to the grave, and these histories 
jfe remind us that we also must die. But Jesus, the kind Saviour, 

; j has made death easy to them who believe in him ; and they shall 

never perish, but live again in a better world than this, where 
they shall have everlasting life. 

In this chapter we have also the names of Jacob’s twelve sons, 
who were called the twelve Patriarchs or chiefs , of numerous 
families and tribes. 

Leah's sons were six : Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, 
and Zebulon. She was also the mother of Dinah, Jacob’s daugh- 
ter. 

Rachel had two sons, Joseph and Benjamin. 

Bilhah , Rachel’s handmaid, had two sons, Dan and Naphtali. 
And Zilpah , Leah’s handmaid, had two sons, Gad and Asher. 

The tribe of Joseph was usually called after the names of his 
two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim ; and though this would make 
thirteen, tribes, yet Levi was not reckoned among them, as that 
tribe was appointed by God to be priests, and to do only sacred 
work. 











JOSEPH INTERPRETING PHARAOH’S DREAM 









99 



child’s commentator. 


THE THIR.TY-SIXTH CHAPTER OF GENESIS. 

Esau's final removal from Canaan . 

“ And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and 
all the persons of his house, and his cattle, and all his beasts, 
and all his substance, which he had got in the land of Canaan ; 
and went into the country from the face of his brother Jacob. 

“ Eor their riches were more than that they might dwell toge- 
ther ; and the land wherein they were strangers could not bear 
them because of their cattle.” — Vers. 6, 7. 




You may, perhaps, wish to know what became of Esau after 
he had buried his father, 

He took what property came to him, and left Canaan entirely 
to his brother Jacob. He had now become very rich, as his fa- 
ther, when he comforted him after he had lost his birth-right, had 
foretold : “ behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, 
and of the dew of heaven from above.” As it seldom rains in hot 
countries, the dews that wet the ground make its herbs and trees 
to bear fruit in abundance ; and the words of his father clearly 
meant, that his lands should be well watered, and bring him 
much riches ; and so it came to pass. 

The rest of the chapter tells who were his sons and grand- 
sons, and other persons related to Esau ; but we shall go on with 
the more interesting account of Jacob. 


THE THIRTY-SEVENTH CHAPTER OF GENESIS. 

Joseph and his Brethren . 

«« Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he 
was the son of his old age : and he made him a coat of many 
colours. 




100 child’s commentator. 

“ And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more 
than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak 
peaceably unto him.” — Vers. 3, 4. 


The history of Joseph is very interesting indeed ; he, like our 
adorable Saviour, was deeply humbled, that he might be highly 
exalted; and, like Christians in general, had to endure great 
trials before he was finally raised to honour and happiness. 

He was the eldest son of Rachel, the beloved wife of Jacob : he 
was very dear to his father, because his mother was dead ; and he 
was his comfort, being a dutiful and affectionate child. No 
wonder, therefore, that his father loved him ; but still he was 
wrong to make so marked a distinction between him and the rest 
of his brothers. He made him a coat of many colours, probably 
being cloths of different dyes sewn together in stripes, and this, 
no doubt, greatly tended to add to the envy of his brethren ; 
besides which, they did bad things, and he told of them — so that 
at last they hated him, and could not speak a kind word to him. 

“ Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer,” says the 
Apostle J ohn ; that is, he is so in his heart, and would kill him 
if he durst ; and this they soon tried to do. 

J oseph was now seventeen years of age ; and though he was 
his father’s darling, he was not brought up in idleness. “ Those 
who are trained up to do nothing, are likely to be good for no- 
thing Joseph was therefore a shepherd, and fed the flocks with 
his brethren. 

“ And Joseph dreamed a dream,” the particulars of which you 
can read in this chapter in your Bible. He thought he was 
binding sheaves in the field, and his brethren’s sheaves all bowed 
to his sheaf. And he dreamed again that the sun, moon, and 
eleven stars bowed to him. 

These his brethren and father explained as meaning that they 
were to bow to him ; and his brethren hated him the more on 
this account, while his father blamed him for telling such dreams, 
but kept them in his memory, to see what would come to pass. 

Perhaps you will ask if all dreams are true. Certainly not. God 


j 



101 



child’s commentator. 

has sometimes warned people of some dangers in this wonderful 
way, but in those days he spoke to them by these means to bring 
about great ends. Thus, his telling his dreams to his brethren 
caused them to do those things which were to bring about what 
they, indeed, intended to prevent. 

“And his brethren went to feed their father’s flock in She- 
chem,” where, perhaps, J acob was afraid they might be in danger 
of being attacked and killed, as they had attacked and killed the 
Shechemites. And Jacob sent Joseph to see if they were safe. 

At length he “ found them in Dothan. And when they saw 
him afar off, they conspired against him to sla}? him. And they 
said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. Come now 
therefore, let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we 
will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him : and we shall see 
what will become of his dreams.” In this way they proposed to 
commit murder ; and then, as one sin leads to another, to cover 
that murder with a lie. 

Reuben and Judah did not, however, agree in this treatment of 
their brother ; Reuben said, “ Do not sin against the child,” [see 
the forty-second chapter,] for Joseph was a child to them. But 
“ they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that 
was on him ; and they took him, and cast him into a pit.” Poor 
Joseph had, in the anguish of his soul, besought them to. have 
pity on him ; but they would not hear. [See also the forty-se- 
cond chapter.] So he was left, after his journey, to perish in the 
pit with hunger and cold. 

But not long after, some Ishmaelites and Midianites, who were 
merchants, happened to be travelling that way in company ; and 
Judah proposed to sell Joseph to them, by which means they 
should easily get rid of him, and he would, probably, never be 
likely to become their master, for he would go into Egypt, and 
there be sold as a slave. So “ they drew and lifted up Joseph 
out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty 
pieces of silver” — that is about fifteen dollars in our money— 
and “they brought Joseph into Egypt.” 

Reuben was just then gone from his brethren ; and probably by 
a round-about way he arrived at the pit, with a design to get his 






THE THIRTY-NINTH CHAPTER OF GENESIS. 

Joseph in Potiphar's House. 

u And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man ; 
and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.” — Ver. 2. 


The story of Joseph is not continued in the next chapter, bui 
goes on in the thirty-ninth. 

J oseph was sold to Potiphar, who was captain of Pharaoh’s 
guard. 

He was a good youth, and feared God, and God so blest him, 
that his master took a great liking to him, and made him head 
servant over all his house. 

But Joseph’s mistress was a wicked woman, and she planned 
his ruin, because he would not break his master’s confidence, by 
constantly keeping company with her, and behaving familiarly 
with her when his master was absent • which would have been 
a very wrong thing in the young man, and especially one in 
his situation. 

And Joseph reasoned with her, as she solicited him day after 
day, and told her it was a liberty he ought not to take, and that 
as his master had put confidence in him, he ought not to break it ; 
and he further said, “ How can I do this great wickedness, and 
sin against God ?” 

Whenever you are tempted to break a trust put into your 
hands, and to wrong those who place you in situations of confidence, 
always remember that God sees you, and ask the same question — 
“ How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God ?” 

At length Potiphar’s wife one day caught hold of Joseph’s 
outer garment, and as he fled from her, not wishing to be found 
in company with so wicked a woman, she held the garment fast 
till it fell from him, and then she kept it, and showed it to Poti- 
phar when he came home, and said to him that Joseph had come 
to her to mock and insult her while he was out; that this 




104 child’s commentator. 


was not to be borne from a Hebrew slave ; that she had lifted up 
her voice and cried for some one to take him away ; and that 
when she did so, he fled, and dropped his garment by the way, 
which she had kept as a proof he had been there. 

This wicked lie was believed by Potiphar, and he directly threw 
Joseph “into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were 
bound : and he was there in the prison,” where they hurt his feet 
with fetters, and he was bound in iron. (Psalm cv. 18.) 

But still “ the Lord was with Joseph ;” and in the prison he 
soon got the favour of the keeper, who trusted its affairs in his 
hands, and God prospered him. 


THE FORTIETH CHAPTER OF GENESIS. 

Joseph in Prison. 

“ And Pharaoh was wroth against two of his officers, against the 
chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers. 

“ And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the 
guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound.” — 
Ver. 2, 3. 


While Joseph was in prison, Pharaoh was displeased with two 
of his servants. One was his chief butler, who supplied him with 
wine ; and the other was his chief baker, who supplied him with 
bread. 

We do not know what was their offence, or whether they had 
committed it themselves, or neglected to attend to the other 
butlers and bakers over whom they were placed, who might have 
done wrong, and so for not looking after them made themselves 
liable to punishment. However, they were thrown into prison. 

Now, no slave or common person was allowed to serve in the 
presence of the kings of Egypt ; these chief officers were, there- 
fore, of the most noble families, and were, on that account, put 
into the state prison where Joseph was. 




child’s commentator. 


105 


This was the prison under the captain of the guard, who was 
Potiphar, who, perhaps, by this time had found out Joseph’s 
innocence, but did not like to own he had done wrong, and to set 
him free. Or Potiphar might have been dead or removed, and 
another captain appointed in his place. 

“ And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and 
he served them.” 

Now, after a time, when Joseph went to see them one morning, 
he found them both looking very dull, as if something was the 
matter ; and on asking them why they looked so sadly, they told 
him they had been dreaming, and were very anxious to know 
what their dreams meant. 

Joseph in reply said, “ Do not interpretations belong to God 1 ?” 
that is, God only knows future events ; and if your dreams mean 
anything, God only can tell what they mean. Then J oseph asked 
to know the dreams. 

The chief butler said his was about a vine with three branches, 
which brought forth ripe grapes, and he pressed them into Pha- 
raoh’s cup for him to drink the juice, as was the custom of those 
times. 

Now Joseph was taught by God to explain these dreams ; and 
he told the butler that his meant that he should be restored in 
three days to Pharaoh’s favour, and should give him his cup to 
drink out of as he used to do. 

Joseph wanted no reward for this service, but only asked, that 
as he had been unjustly put into prison, he would, when restored 
to the king’s favour, kindly speak a word to get him set at 
liberty. 

The chief baker, finding that this was a pleasant explanation of 
the meaning of the butler’s dream, then told his to Joseph. 

He said he had dreamt that he had three white baskets on his 
head ; and that in the one at the top he had baked meats for the 
king, but the birds eat them out of the basket on his head. 

Joseph told him that his dream meant that in three days his 
head should be cut off, and he should be hung on a gibbet, and 
the birds should eat his flesh. 

Three days after this was Pharaoh’s birth-day, and what Joseph 




106 child’s commentator. 

said came to pass — the butler was restored to favour, and the 
baker was hung. 

You may read the account at greater length in the chapter. 
You will also there find that after the chief butler was restored 
he forgot Joseph. It is very common for people to be ungrateful 
for kindnesses, but it is a great disgrace to them. Do you, my 
dear reader, never imitate so bad an example. But though the 
butler forgot Joseph, Joseph’s God did not forget him. 



THE FORTY-FIRST CHAPTER OF GENESIS. 


Joseph raised to Honour . 


And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon 
Joseph’s hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and 
put a gold chain about his neck ; 

“ And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had ; 
and he cried before him, Bow the knee; and he made him 
ruler over all the land of Egypt.” — Vers. 42, 43. 


Two years more passed away, and still poor Joseph remained 
in prison. 

Then Pharaoh dreamed that seven fat kine came out of the 
river Nile, and fed in a meadow, and seven lean kine came after, 
and ate up the fat kine. 

He went to sleep again, and again he had a dream ; and he 
thought he saw seven ears of fine corn springing up from the 
ground, and after that sprung up seven thin ears, blasted by the 
hot east wind known by travellers under the name of simoom — a 
wind which, in the deserts of Arabia, often suffocates large num- 
bers of persons who are travelling, by blowing suddenly like a 
flame upon them : and these thin ears ate up the full ones. 

Now there were men in Egypt called magicians, or cunning 
men, who pretended, by thinking on the stars, to know what 
would happen to people ; and as Pharaoh was distressed about his 



PUTTING THE CUP IN BENJAMIN’S SACK 








JOSEPH PROCLAIMED RULER OVER EGYPT. 









109 



child’s commentator. 

dreams, he sent for some of these men to tell him what they 
meant, but they could not even pretend to tell anything about 
them. 

Then the chief butler, probably hoping to get higher into 
favour by telling of Joseph, told him that there was a young 
man, a prisoner in the king’s prison, who had interpreted a 
dream which he had when he was there, and also another of 
the chief baker’s, and had told them what came to pass ; and he 
would recommend him to try what he could do. 

Pharaoh, glad to catch at anything to ease his mind, sent 
directly for Joseph; and, as soon as he saw him, without asking 
him who or what he was, he told him his dreams. 

Joseph was divinely taught to see that they meant that the river 
Nile, which overflows the land of Egypt, and causes it every year 
to bring forth a harvest, should overflow it so as to produce an 
abundance for seven years ; and then it should flow so sparingly, 
that there would be no water to water the sown grounds ; and 
there should be seven years of dreadful famine, so that people 
would not be able to get any bread to eat. 

Joseph then told Pharaoh, that he ought to find some wise 
man, who would lay up one-fifth part of the corn in plentiful 
years, and, perhaps, buy more, and keep it in store till the 
years of scarcity, so that the people might not starve. 

Pharaoh was satisfied with what he said, and no doubt God 
moved the mind of the king to believe Joseph, as much as he did 
the mind of Joseph to explain his dreams. 

Then the king thought that none could be found like Joseph, 
— so full of wisdom ; and he appointed him ruler, next to him- 
self, over all the land of Egypt; and he clothed him finely, and 
put a ring on his finger, and a gold chain round his neck ; and he 
made him to ride in a fine state-chariot, and the people bowed to 
him in respect, as we in civility do to great men when we ap- 
proach them. 

And Pharaoh gave him a name of distinction, as our kings 
make dukes and lords ; and he found him a wife to be his 
companion and comforter. 

And then Joseph went out through the land, probably to build 











child’s commentator. Ill 

“ And J oseph’s ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt.” 
— Vers. 1 — 3. 


The famine had now got into Canaan, which, it seems, was 
often troubled by it ; and, indeed, before men learnt to know how 
to farm and manage the ground, which was not then studied as it 
is with us, famines were very common. Canaan was often trou- 
bled with them ; you remember that Abraham and Isaac both 
went into Egypt on account of famine in Canaan ; and now Jacob 
sends to Egypt also, having probably seen some of the corn that 
his neighbours had got from that country. 

Famine, or want of bread, is a very dreadful thing ; but, while 
bread is common, we do not enough thank God for his goodness 
in causing the earth to bring forth. In this sense we should 
always pray, “ Give us this day our daily bread,” and we should 
always thank God when we eat our food. History tells us, that, 
in the year 272, there was so great a famine in England, that 
people ate the bark of trees ! There was also one in Scotland, in 
the year 306, when thousands were starved. Again, in the year 
310, forty thousand persons were starved to death in England and 
Wales. So late as the year 1438, the people were obliged to 
make bread in England of fern roots, for want of corn ; and 
since that time there have been many severe famines in the 
United Kingdom. Other countries have suffered in the 
same way ; in Italy, in the year 450, parents even ate their 
children! and in Vellore, in the East Indies, about thirty 
years ago, six thousand people perished for want ; and Jive thou- 
sand were starved in one part of Sweden, because, owing to the 
cruelty of war, they could get no food. 

Jacob having lost his dear son Joseph, was now exceedingly 
careful of his younger son Benjamin, Joseph’s very near brother, 
both having Rachel for their mother. He, therefore, sent down 
his other ten sons into Egypt, but kept Benjamin at home. 

And Joseph’s brethren “ came and bowed down themselves 
before him with their faces to the earth.” Now, my young read- 
er, you see that Joseph’s dreams have come true. Oh the won 




derful ways of God ! for, if his brethren had not sold him into 
Egypt, to prevent the dreamer from ever being above them, this 
had never happened. 

Joseph knew his brethren ; for they having been men when he 
saw them twenty-one years before, had not so altered in their 
faces as he had, who was then a lad, but had now become a man. 

And Joseph remembered his dreams, and saw the wonderful 
providence of God in sending him into Egypt, where he was to 
save the lives of his starving family as well as of the Egyptians 
and other people, and where his brethren’s sheaves bowed to his 
sheaf. 

And he treated them very roughly, still better to prevent them 
from knowing him, who was probably very meek and mild. And 
he charged them with being spies, — that is, with going to see how 
weak the people might be from want of food, and so intending to 
return and kill and plunder them, if all seemed to favour their 
I plan ; for the Arabs who live in those parts, even to this day, 
i will spy out a weak town and drive out the people, and take 
their houses and goods, and live in it themselves. 

Jacob’s sons then told him who they were, to prove they were 
not spies ; for no man would hazard the lives of ten sons on such 
a dangerous business, where they would lose their lives if they 
were found out. But they said the youngest son was left behind. 

“ That,” said Joseph, “ looks more suspicious : why was your 
father afraid to trust him with you, if you intended to do what 
was right V 


THE FORTY-SECOND CHAPTER OF GENESIS. 

Joseph's Brethren sent home for Benjamin. 

“If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the 
house of your prison : go ye, carry corn for the famine of your 
houses : 



m. 


child’s commentator. 


113 


“ But bring your youngest brother unto me ; so shall your words 
be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so.” — Vers. 
19 , 20 . 


Joseph then protested by the life of Pharaoh, that his brethren 
should not go till the youngest was brought to him. Some think, 
when Joseph said, “ By the life of Pharaoh,” that he swore by 
Pharaoh’s name, though he would not by the sacred name of God ; 
but, if he did so, he had got a very bad habit, by doing what 
those around him did, and showed that “ evil communications 
corrupt good manners for we are thus commanded by God’s 
holy word, — “ Swear not at all.” Others, however, think that he 
meant only to say, “ May Pharaoh live or, “ As I hold Pharaoh’s 
life dear, and will not expose him to be killed by spies, you shall 
uot go back until 1 know if you speak truth.” Joseph certainly 
seems to have feared God too much to speak any wicked words. 

Joseph now told them that they must send one to fetch their 
youngest brother, and he would keep the rest till he returned 
with him ; and he put them in prison for three days to think 
about it. And on the third day he sent for them, and told them 
that he feared God, and therefore would not do them any wrong ; 
for people give very little proof that they fear God, whatever 
they may pretend to, when they do unjust things to one another. 
So he let them all go but one, and he kept Simeon while they 
took home the corn, and till they brought back Benjamin, whom, 
as his own brother, he secretly wanted much to see. 

Now their consciences began to wound them, and they recol- 
lected how they had used Joseph ; and they talked to one another, 
and said, “We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that 
we saw the anguish of his soul when he besought us, and we 
would not hear ; therefore is this distress come upon us.” “ Ah,” 
said Reuben, “ did not I say, ‘ Do not sin against the child ;’ and 
ye would not hear 1” 

They, supposing Joseph to be an Egyptian, talked out loud in 
Hebrew ; for Joseph, to conceal himself, got another to speak for 
him, who was called on this account an interpreter. 

When Joseph heard how their hearts were pained, he turned 





aside and wept ; and then, having recovered his courage, he 
“ took from them Simeoif, and bound him before their eyes.” 

Thus Providence put it into his power to punish the injustice 
and cruelty of his brethren ; though you will see that after he 
had humbled them, he treated them very kindly, and harboured 
no wicked revenge in his bosom. 

Joseph next ordered their money to be put into their sacks ; 
and they went home, leaving Simeon behind. 

But one of them opened his sack to feed his ass, and finding 
his money, he was quite frightened lest he should be sent for 
back as a thief. 

And when they got home, they told Jacob all that had hap- 
pened ; and as they all emptied their sacks, they all, to their 
great surprise, found their money there. 

And when they told Jacob that Simeon was left behind, and 
Benjamin must go back, the poor old man’s heart was sadly 
grieved ; and he said, “Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye 
will take Benjamin away ; all these things are against me.” “ My 
son shall not go down with you ; for his brother is dead, and he 
is left alone : if mischief befal him by the way in the which ye go, 
then shall ye bring down my grey hairs with sorrow to the grave.” 

Reuben offered to give his sons to be put to death by Jacob if 
they did not bring Benjamin back ; but what good would that 
have done to Jacob 1 — the death of his grandsons could not have 
comforted him for the death of his son. 

“It is bad when children carry themselves so ill that their 
parents know not how to trust them.” Perhaps Jacob might even 
suspect, that through their neglect, at least, Joseph had come to 
an evil end ; and that they might deprive him of Benjamin, too, 
in their great jealousy, because he so dearly loved him. 

Thus were Jacob’s sons punished ; and when a man does 
wrong towards others, God, in his providence, will make him 
feel for it some time or other ; “ For verily there is a righteous 
God that judgeth in the earth.” 

Let us, therefore, pray for grace more patiently 
when any act unkindly towards us without a cause ; 
in His hands who is just as well as good. 


to bear evil, 
and leave all 


child’s commentator. 


115 


THE FORTY-THIRD CHAPTER OF GENESIS. 

Joseph's Brethren return to Egypt. 

1 And the famine was sore in the land. 

* And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which 
they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them, 
Go again, buy us a little food.” — Vers. 1, 2. 


The famine still continued ; and the last supply having been 
eaten, Jacob wished his sons to get some more corn, 

They were ready to go ; but then they could not go without 
Benjamin. This was very hard for poor Jacob ; but at last he 
consented, and his dear Benjamin went also. 

Then Jacob sent presents to Joseph, — for that is the way in 
which the favour of great men in the East is to be gained, — and 
he sent back the money found in the sacks, for he knew it did 
not belong to him ; and good people are always honest, and will 
never keep anything that is not their own ; and he prayed to God 
to bless them, and sent them away. 

When they got to Egypt, Joseph provided a great feast for them, 
and they were sadly afraid, on going to his house, lest he should 
do them some harm ; for they always remembered that they had 
ill used their brother, and they thought that God was angry with 
them ever after, in all that they did. See what a sad thing it is 
to have a bad conscience — a constant feeling that we have done 
wrong. Their fears were, however, soon quieted ; for the stew- 
ard spake kindly to them, and Joseph treated them as kindly. 

And now he asked after his good old father, for he was a tender- 
hearted son, and loved him dearly. And when he saw his own 
brother Benjamin, born of the same mother, his heart was so full 
that he was obliged to go himself into his chamber and weep. 

Having washed his tears away, he returned and ordered three 
tables to be spread : one for himself, as a great chief above all the 
rest ; another for his brethren, to eat by themselves ; and another 
for the Egyptians, that they might eat by themselves, — for the 


116 



child’s commentator. 


[ 

i 


Egyptians thought it an abomination, or that it would defile them, 
to eat bread with the Hebrews, because the Hebrews ate for food 
some creatures which they were so ignorant as to worship as gods. 

Then Joseph having given orders, the eldest was put at the 
head of the table, and the youngest at the bottom — all in order 
according to their ages ; and they all wondered how he could know 
so much about them ; and all this time it never came into their 
thoughts that he might be Joseph. Perhaps he did all this to try 
if they would find him out; but, as young men are greatly altered 
from their appearance as boys, it was not easy to know him, es- 
pecially in another dress ; nor could they ever suppose that he had 
become so great a man, whom they sold as a poor slave. And, 
according to the custom of the country, Benjamin had five times 
more food set before him than any of the rest, having a greater 
variety of dishes for his choice ; hence we sometimes say, when 
any one is helped largely, he has got Benjamin’s mess ; not that 
Benjamin was a glutton, and ate more than any of the rest, but 
Joseph gave him this mark of honour, as it was then thought, 
because he was not a half brother, but his own brother, whom he 
greatly loved. 

So seeing Joseph behaved so kindly, they drank and were 
merry with him. 


THE FORTY-FOURTH CHAPTER OF GENESIS. 

The Cup in Benjamin's Sack. 

“ And the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.” — Ver. 12. 


Joseph’s brethren again prepared to depart, and Joseph order- 
ed every man’s money to be put again in his sack’s mouth ; and 
along with the money, he ordered his silver drinking-cup to be 
put into Benjamin’s sack. 

As soon as the men were gone a little way, he sent after them, 
and charged them with having stolen his cup. They were sure 
that they all knew too well what a crime it was to steal, and so 




child’s commentator. 


117 


they readily agreed to be searched, and that the thief should be 
made prisoner. The search was then made, beginning with the 
eldest, and going down to the youngest ; and lo, the cup was 
found in Benjamin’s sack. Then, as was the custom in great 
grief, they tore their garments, and all of them went back. 

When they came to J oseph, “ they fell before him on the 
ground.” And Joseph asked them if they supposed that they 
could cheat him ? Did not they know that he was a very cunning 
man, and could divine or find out such things ? Now, Joseph did 
all this to try if his brethren could yet find him out, and Provi- 
dence made these plans their punishment for their cruelty to their 
brother. He wanted, also, to detain Benjamin, and to try if they 
had any affection for his brother, or if they did not care about 
him, as they once proved they did not love him. If so, they 
would say, “ Let this young favourite go and be a slave in Egypt ; 
if he have stolen the cup, let him suffer for it ; we have a good 



riddance of him ; and without being under the necessity of deal- 
ing with him as we did with his brother. And as to the old 
man, if he will indulge in such partial fondness, let him take the 
consequence.”* 

But Joseph had the pleasure to find that his brethren were 
truly sorry for what they had done. He knew they were inno- 
cent ; yet they said, in remembrance of their past conduct, “ God 
hath found out the iniquity of thy servants thinking that God 
was now reckoning with them. And at length Judah made a 
most beautiful and tender speech, which touched the heart of J o- 
seph to the centre, and which we can scarcely read even now 
without tears. You must not pass it by without reading it, but 
it is too long to be given in this place; it begins at the 18th 
verse of the 44th chapter of Genesis, and ends at the 34th. 



• Rev. A. Fuller, onGenesis. 



118 


child’s commentator. 


THE FORTY-FIFTH CHAPTER OF GENESIS. 

Joseph makes himself known to his Brethren. 

“ Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that 
stood by him ; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from 
me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made 
himself known unto his brethren. 

“ And he wept aloud : and the Egyptians and the house of Pha- 
raoh heard.” — Vers. 1, 2. 

Judah’s beautiful speech so overcame Joseph, that he was 
obliged to give way to his feelings, and to make himself known ; 
and having ordered every one but his brethren instantly to leave 
his presence, he said, “ I am Joseph ; doth my father yet live 1 
I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.” No wonder 
they were troubled at his presence. These were cutting words, 
but he soon softened them and quieted their fears. “ Now there- 
fore,” said he, “ be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye 
sold me hither : for God did send me before you to preserve life.” 

How much of kindness and goodness was here 1 Joseph only 
wished his brethren to forgive themselves, for he had forgiven 
them. How he might have taken vengeance on them now, for 
their past scorn, hatred, and cruelty ! — but his mind was too 
noble ; and having seen their sorrow for having done him wrong, 
he readily forgave them. 

And now he would have his father come and live near him, 
and all of them. “ And he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s 
neck, and wept ; and Benjamin wept upon his neck. Moreover 
he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them : and after that 
his brethren talked with him.” 

Now Pharaoh soon heard of this interesting meeting of Joseph 
and his brethren ; and, as he greatly respected him, he desired 
that what he wished should be directly done : and he ordered 
®SyP^ an wagons to be sent into Canaan, to fetch the women and 
children of the old man, and promised them “ the good of all the 
land of Egypt.” 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


119 


And J oseph gave presents of clothes to his brethren, and a large 
present of clothes to his brother Benjamin ; and he sent corn, and 
bread, and meat, for his father ; and dismissed his brethren with 
this good advice — “ See that ye fall not out by the way.” 

And when they got home and told their father that Joseph was 
yet alive, he was some time before he could believe them ; but 
when he saw the wagons, he knew that they were not theirs, and 
that they could not bring them away without leave, and then he 
said, “It is enough;” — I am satisfied; — “Joseph my son is yet 
alive : I will go and see him before I die.” 


THE FORTY-SIXTH CHAPTER OF GENESIS. 

Jacob goes into Egypt. 

“ And J acob rose up from Beer-sheba : and the sons of Israel 
carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives, 
in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry them. 

“ And they took their cattle, and their goods, which they had 
gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob, and 
all his seed with him : 

“ His sons, and his sons’ sons with him, his daughters, and his 
sons’ daughters, and all his seed brought he with him into 
Egypt.” — Vers. 5, 6, 7. 


Good old Jacob wished to be guided by Providence in all he 
did ; and before he quite made up his mind to go down into 
Egypt, he went to Beer-sheba, and there he worshipped God. It 
was in his way, and it was a favourite place, for there Abraham 
and Isaac had worshipped God before him. (See Genesis xxi. 33 ; 
xxvi, 35.) And there God spake in some way, which we do not 
know, — but we know he can do all things, — and told Jacob to go 
down into Egypt, and that he and his should there prosper. 

So Jacob and his family went down into Egypt, being in num- 
ber threescore and ten, or seventy persons. 



120 


child’s commentator. 


When they were near their journey’s end, Judah was sent 
forward to tell Joseph that they were coming ; “ and Joseph made 
ready his chariot,” being a great man, “ and went up to meet 
Israel his father, to Goshen for you remember that Israel was 
the name given to Jacob by the angel that wrestled with him, 
and he “ presented himself unto him : and he fell on his neck, 
and wept on his neck a good while.” 

You see that Joseph did not neglect his good old father 
because he was “ a plain man,” while he himself was become a 
great man in the land of Egypt. But there have been wicked 
children who have looked with contempt on their poor parents, 
after they have done all in their power to bring them up, and 
rewarded their kindness by the most ungrateful returns when 
they have become prosperous men. 


Joseph not only paid respect to his aged parent by going to 
meet him, “ but he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good 
while.” How much he loved him ! — what an affectionate son ! 



THE FORTY-SEVENTH CHAPTER OF GENESIS. 

Jacob before Pharaoh. 


“And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before 
Pharaoh ; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.” — Ver. 7. 


Jacob and his family having arrived in Egypt, he and five of 
his sons were introduced by Joseph to the king, and Joseph 
having told them what to say about themselves, — that they were 
shepherds , — they told Pharaoh about their employment ; for 
though Joseph could have got them greater honours, he thought 
that they would be much more happy in being by themselves, 
than among a people that did not worship the true God. 

So Pharaoh ordered Joseph to give them the best land in 
Goshen to live in, where there was pasture for their flocks ; and 


child’s commentator. 


121 

to make any of the most trustworthy rulers of his cattle, or chiefs 
over his herdsmen. 



And when Jacob was introduced, he had a seat to sit down, 
being a very old man and feeble ; for we should always be kind 
to old age, as we ourselves may live to be old, and then shall be 
glad of the same kindness from others. And Jacob blessed 
Pharaoh, who had been so kind to his family. This was grate- 
ful ; and gratitude for any kindness is always pleasant, though 
some people forget to show it. Jacob’s blessing was the same 
as if he prayed for his welfare ; and the prayers of such a good 
old man were no small returns for Pharaoh’s kindness. 

And then Pharaoh asked Jacob, How old art thou?” And 
Jacob said unto Pharaoh, “ The days of the years of my pilgrimage 




122 child’s commentator. 

are an hundred and thirty years : few and evil have the days of 
the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of 
the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrim- 
age.” Jacob had lived an hundred and thirty years, and yet he 
thought his days few, though they had been evil, and he had suf- 
fered much from trouble ; which, when it comes, makes days ap- 
pear long till it is over. Human life is then very short, and old 
people know it to be so. How important then is it that every 
one should often think about another life, that shall not be short, 
but long as Eternity ; and that shall not be evil at any time, but 
always happy ! Dear young reader, may the grace of God pre- 
pare you for it ! 

“And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all 
his father’s household, with bread, according to their families.” 
Thus you see how God brought good out of all the seeming evil 
that had happened to him. 

And now the famine became very bad indeed, as Joseph, un- 
der divine direction, had foretold. And the people spent all their 
money to buy corn ; and when that was gone they exchanged 
their cattle for it ; and when that was gone, they gave their lands 
and themselves as servants to Pharaoh, rather than perish for 
want. Now Joseph was not cruel in taking their money, and 
cattle, and lands, and themselves ; for he had bought up the corn 
in his granaries with Pharaoh’s money, and it was Pharaoh’s 
corn and not his to give away. And if the people had been wise, 
they would have laid up corn as well as Joseph ; but as they did 
not fear God, they did not believe his servant ; and so this dis- 
tress came upon them. And as the property he gained was the 
king’s, Joseph made no advantage of it : he kept none for him- 
self, but only, like a faithful servant, gave it to Pharaoh ; and 
then, at last, he restored the people their lands — only on condi- 
tion that they would give one-fifth of its produce to Pharaoh, to 
help him to preserve the state, — a kind of tax, common in all 
eastern countries now, where a fifth or a tenth of the produce 
is paid to the ruler as a rent for the land. 

So you see how Pharaoh prospered through Joseph, and for 
being kind to Jacob. 


child’s commentator. 


123 


After this Jacob lived seventeen years; and finding himself 
growing feeble, he wished to be buried in Canaan, and per- 
suaded Joseph to make him a solemn promise that he would 
take his body out of Egypt, and bury him with his fathers; for 
Canaan was a type or resemblance of heaven, being the land 
God had preserved for his peculiar people, and there he wished 
to rest in peace. 


THE FORTY-EIGHTH AND FORTY'NINTH CHAPTERS OF GENESIS. 

Jacob on his Death-bed. 

“ And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die : but God shall be 

with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.” 

— Chap, xlviii. 21. 

Jacob being about to die, Joseph went to comfort him, and to 
receive his blessing ; and he took his two sons, Ephraim and 
Manasseh, with him, that he might bless them also. 

And Jacob laid his hands upon their heads, and blessed them ; 
committing them to the care of God, which was the best fortune 
he could possibly leave them. 

Then he called all his sons together, and told them, being 
taught by God, what should happen to them in their latter days. 

After he had done, he desired to be buried in the field which 
Abraham had bought of Ephron the Hittite, — the same field in 
which Abraham and Sarah were buried, and Isaac, and Rebekah, 
and Leah ; there they were laid in a cave prepared on purpose 
for the family. 

“And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, 
he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost 
that is, breathed out his spirit, and was gathered unto his 
people. 

Thus died Jacob, aged one hundred and forty-seven years. 
My young reader, may Jacob’s God be your God, and your last 
end be as happy as his ! 





i\ 


124 child’s commentator. 


THE FIFTIETH CHAPTER OF GENESIS. 

Jacob's Funeral and Joseph's Death. 

“ And his sons did unto him according as he commanded them : 

“ For his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried 
him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham 
bought with the field for the possession of a burying-place of 
Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre. 

“ And Joseph returned into Egypt, he and his brethren, and all 
that went up with him to 'bury his father, after he had buried 
his father.” — Vers. 12, 13, 14. 

When J oseph saw that J acob was dead, he “ fell upon his 
father’s face, and wept upon him, and kissed him.” His icy cold 
body and his pale cheeks and lips, were yet dear to him ; and he 
showed how much he loved him, by bathing him with his tears. 
He had lost a kind and pious father, and such a friend is a loss 
indeed. 

Jacob’s body was embalmed or preserved according to the 
custom, of the Egyptians who had men very skilful in embalming, 
though it took some time; but the body once embalmed would 
not change any further for thousands of years. When embalmed 
it was rolled up tightly in linen cloth which had been soaked in 
bitumen or pitch, and generally put into a coffin of strong wood 
or stone, finely ornamented. Some had grand apartments pre- 
pared for them where they were kept for many generations; so 
that the bodies of grandfathers and great grandfathers might be 
seen by their grand and great grandchildren, as perfect as if they 
had died only a few days. Some of these bodies, called mum- 
mies, have been taken out of ancient tombs in Egypt, where they 
have been buried almost from the time of Joseph, and now, after 
more than three thousand years, are yet perfect, and are to be 
seen in many of our Museums. The whole time usually taken 
for embalming the body, was seventy days; and while those 


JACOB BLESSING EPHRAIM AND MANASSEH. 













child’s commentator. 


127 


days lasted, the Egyptians, out of respect to Joseph as well as 
Jacob’s family, mourned for him, just as we do when our Presi- 
dent is dead; everybody, out of respect, goes for a time into 
deep mourning. 

When the seventy days were over, Joseph asked Pharaoh’s 
leave to go into Canaan, and bury his father, which Pharaoh 
readily granted. “ And Joseph went to bury his father ; and 
with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders,” or 
most honourable men of his house, “ and all the elders of the 
land of Egypt; and all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, 
and his father’s house : only their little ones, and their flocks, 
and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen. And there 
went up with him both chariots and horsemen : and it was a very 
great company.” Thus good old Jacob came to the honour of a 
national funeral, and a national mourning ; only great men of all 
countries having such respect paid to their remains. 

On their way to Canaan, the procession reached the threshing 
floor of Atad, beyond Jordan, where it stopped. Atad was pro- 
bably the chief of that part of the country, and he had much land, 
and a threshing floor on which he had the corn beaten out, which 
floor usually stood in the middle of a field. Here there was pro- 
bably pasturage for the cattle ; and so here the mourners stopped, 
and they mourned again seven days. 

“ And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw 
the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, This is a grievous 
mourning to the Egyptians.” For the Hebrews used to tear 
their hair, and rend their clothes, and fill the air with piercing 
shrieks and cries, when a dear relative was dead. 

After the funeral, Joseph returned into Egypt. His brethren 
still feared his anger, knowing they deserved it, and supposed 
that he only withheld it till the death of his father, that he might 
not hurt the good old man’s feelings. They therefore again im- 
plored Joseph’s forgiveness, and pleaded that his father wdshed 
them so to do ; and this might be true, for he perhaps thought 
they could not too much humble themselves for the wicked 
act of selling their own brother. Joseph then repeated his 
pardon, and said to them, “ Fear not, for am I in the place 




J.28 child’s commentator. 

of God ?” Ask pardon of God for your sin, but I will not take 
vengeance : besides, he overruled your cruelty for good. “ As for 
you, ye thought evil against me ; but God meant it unto good, 
to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. 
Now, therefore, fear ye not : I will nourish you, and your little 
ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.” 

Joseph was a chief man in Egypt for eighty years ; for he was 
thirty years old when he was raised to his honours, and he died 
at an hundred and ten years old, — being the shortest lived of all 
the Patriarchs. Perhaps this was partly owing to his living the 
life of a courtier, which was less hardy, and therefore not so 
healthy as that of a shepherd. However, when he died, he had 
great great grandchildren to remember his name with respect ; 
and, what was better than all, he died in faith , believing in a 
joyful resurrection and a promised Messiah, — that Saviour who 
would come to save his people from their sins. 


CHILD 8 COMMENTATOR. 


129 


EXODUS. 


WHICH MEANS 

THE GOING OUT, 

BECAUSE TOTS BOOK GIVES AN ACCOUNT OF THE CHILDREN }F ISRAEL, 
THAT IS, OF JACOB, GOING OUT OF EGYPT. 


THE FIRST CHAPTER OF EXODUS. 

The Children of Israel in Bondage. 

‘ Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not 
J oseph. 

‘ And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children 
of Israel are more and mightier than we. 

“ Come on, let us deal wisely with them ; lest they multiply, and 
it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join 
also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up 
out of the land. 

“ Therefore they did set over them task-masters to afflict them 
with their burdens.” — Vers. 8 — 10. 


After the death of Joseph, and of all his brethren, and of all 
the people that lived in the time of his greatness, another king 
reigned, called also Pharaoh, that being a general name for a 
king. 

“And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased 
abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceedingly mighty ; and 
the land was filled with them.” 



Pharaoh was jealous on this account, and he burdened the 
Israelites with heavy taxes, and made them work for him at 
brick-making, and build his cities ; and it is supposed by some 
that he made them build the famous pyramids, or huge monu- 
ments, which remain to this day in Egypt among the greatest 
wonders of the world ; and he set over them task-masters, or 
men to overlook them and see that they kept hard at work. 
so doing he kept them very poor, for they had not time to labour 
for themselves, and he tried to wear them out with slavery, that 
he might lessen their numbers; “But the more they afflicted 
them, the more they multiplied and grew.” 

So the king thought upon another plan to destroy them, and 
ordered all the little boys of the Hebrews to be drowned in the 
river Nile, as soon as they were born ; but the Hebrew women, 
to whom he gave the orders, feared to commit murder, and God ) 
blessed them for it, and protected them, so that Pharaoh did them i 
no harm for not obeying him. 


THE SECOND CHAPTER OF EXODUS. 

The Birth and wonderful Preservation of Moses. 

And she called his name Moses : and she said, Because 1 drew 
him out of the water.” — Ver. 10. 


About this time God gave a son to a man of the house of Levi, 
that is, one descended from Levi, one of Joseph’s brethren. This 
man’s name was Amram; he was a son of Kohath and grand- 
son of Levi. 

Besides the love his mother had for him, as her son, she was 
struck with his great beauty, and she hid him for three months 
that she might save him from being drowned, which it is sup- 
posed that many were, notwithstanding the humane conduct of 
those Hebrew women who refused to do as Pharaoh told them. 

At last it is thought that Pharaoh sent spies to search out for 
all the little Hebrew babes that were boys ; and Moses’s mother, 
when she could no longer hide him, took for him an ark of 




Wnn/a 










IS 



MOSES BEFORE PHARAOH’S DAUGHTER. 























CHILD'S COMMENTATOR. 


133 

bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the 
child therein, and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink. 
The ark means a boat, and the bulrushes were a sort of strong 
tall reed which grows on the banks of the Nile, the wood of which 
was tied together in little bundles, and these little bundles were 
again tied together, till enough were so tied as to make a boat of 
nearly the same shape as we could make it of wood. The slime 
and the pitch were to keep the water from getting into it, that it 
might not sink. The Egyptians made all their boats this way, 
till they found out a better method. Moses’s mother perhaps 
knew the spot which Pharaoh’s daughter used to visit, and might 
have hoped to move her to pity by his helplessness, and inno- 
cency, and beauty ; and, being directed by Divine Providence, 
the poor little babe was put there, “ and his sister, Miriam, stood 
afar off to wit,” or observe, “ what would be done to him.” 

“ And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself,” 
or, rather to bathe at the river, as was the custom in that 
hot climate, and still is in many countries ; “ and her maid- 
ens” that attended upon her “ walked along by the river’s side; 
and when she saw the ark,” or little reed boat, “ among the flags, 
she sent her maid to fetch it. And when she had opened it, she 
saw the child : and, behold, the babe wept. And she had com- 
passion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” 
How kind-hearted was Pharaoh’s daughter! How lovely she 
looks ; a princess taking pity on this poor deserted child ! But 
those are cruel indeed that would hurt a helpless infant. 

His sister drawing near, as if to see what was found, but not 
daring to tell whose child it was, said “ to Pharaoh’s daughter, 
Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that 
she may nurse the child for thee ? And Pharaoh’s daughter said 
unto her, Go. And the maid went and called the child’s mother. 
And Pharaoh’s daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and 
nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman 
took the child, and nursed it.” So he was restored to his mo- 
ther’s bosom. “ And the child grew, and she brought him unto 
Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son.” She called him 
such, and brought him up as if he had been her own. “ And she 



134 child's commentator. 

called his name Moses which means drawn out , “ and she said, 
Because I drew him out of the water. This was the meaning of 
Moses’s name. 

How wonderful was the providence of God in saving this little 
child ! even if he was put by his mother by design where he was 
found, as being the spot where Pharaoh’s daughter went, yet it 
was a dangerous place ; for he might have been washed out of 
the flags into the river, or devoured by crocodiles, those cruel and 
ugly animals that abound in the Nile ; and had anything caused 
the delay of the princess’s visit, he might have died of hunger. 

And then, when she came, she would not have known Moses was 
there, had he been asleep instead of crying ; and who could say 
whether she would dare to disobey her cruel father, in preventing 
the murder of the child, or whether she would not have ordered poor 
little Moses to have been instantly drowned ? And then, further, 

J the ready thought of his sister Miriam got him his own mother 
for a nurse — one who was sure to love him and take care of him. 

•rg You think all this is wonderful, and so it is. But the preser- j 

I J vation of all little children is wonderful : little infants are always 

in danger. They know no better, or do not always mind as 
they should what is said to them, and they will play with the 
fire, or run near the water, or get into the way of a horse when j 
he is running, or climb where they are likely to get a fall ; and 
so are in danger of being burnt, or drowned, or run over, or of 
breaking their little necks. It is God’s great care and goodness 
that keep them and you alive every day. 

And now Moses, having been taken under the protection of 
Pharaoh’s daughter, was brought up as a prince ; and being very 
clever, he was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, who 
were at that time the most learned people in the world ; so that, 
both from natural talents, as well as from extraordinary divine 
help, he was well qualified to write the first five books of the 
Bible, of which books he was the author, and some have thought 
that he also wrote Job. History likewise reports, that he was a ! 
great general, and the New Testament says, he was mighty in 
words and in deeds ; and this helped to make him the leader and 
deliverer of the oppressed Israelites. 




God early touched the heart of Moses with pity to his bur- 
thened countrymen, and he “ refused to be called the son of 
Pharaoh’s daughter ; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the 
people of God,” who were his people, and whom God had pro- 
mised to bless. 

Profane history, so called in opposition to sacred history, which 
is found in the Bible only, tells us that the beauty of young 
Moses was so great, and he showed so much wit and address, 
that all were charmed with him, and were never satisfied with 
looking on him. The Princess Thurmutis , not having any children, 
adopted him, and when he was three years of age, she presented 
him to the king her father, telling him that she had chosen him 
for her son on account of his rare qualities, and could wish that 
he might succeed to the crown of Egypt ; and at the same time 
she put the child into the hands of her father. The king received 
him into his arms, and to please his daughter, in a way of mirth, 
he put his diadem upon the child’s head. But Moses presently 
snatched it off, and letting it fall on the ground, he trod it under 
foot. This was looked upon as no good sign, and a priest, who, 
pretended to prophecy, wished much to have him put to death, 
saying that Egypt could not be in safety if he lived. But many 
of these stories, not to be found in the Bible, are not true. 

From the New Testament, Acts vii. 23, we learn that “ when 
he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his 
brethren, the children of Israel. And seeing one of them suffer 
wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed,” — 
that is, he took his part, — and smote the Egyptian, and hid his 
body in the sand. This would have been a wicked act ; but 
Moses was divinely taught to do this as a pledge of his smiting the 
armies of Egypt, and saving the Israelites from their cruel enemies; 
and “ he supposed his brethren would have understood how that 
God by his hand would deliver them : but they understood not.” 

The next day he found two Hebrews quarrelling, and wishing 
to prevent them from hurting one another, he asked the one who 
struck the first blow, why he struck his brother. He answered 
with another question, “ Who made thee a ruler and judge over us 1 
Wilt thou kill me as thou didst the Egyptian yesterday ?” 



child’s commentator. 


136 

Moses, on hearing this, wondered how the thing was known ; but 
it soon came to the ears of Pharaoh, who sent in search of him, 
that he might have him killed. Moses, therefore, escaped into 
Midian, a country a great way off, beyond the Red Sea. 

Moses, perhaps, wearied with his journey, sat himself down 
by a well, the traveller’s usual place of rest, at that time, and 
long" after. 

“ Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters ; and they 
came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their fa- 
ther’s flock. And the shepherds came and drove them away 
and after they had been at the trouble of drawing the water, they 
used it for their own flocks. This was very mean and cowardly, 
and would have been bad conduct towards men, but it was much 
worse when done towards women, whom they should rather have 
helped. 

Moses was a brave man, who loved to defend the weak against 
the strong ; a just man, who loved to do that which was right ; 
and a good man, who delighted in doing good ; he therefore 
boldly “ stood up and helped” the priest’s daughters, and even 
watered their flocks. 

When the young women got home, their father wondered how 
they returned so soon ; and they told him how kind Moses had 
been ; and he sent to invite him to his house, and made much of 
him ; and he gave him his daughter, or perhaps, grand-daughter, 
for his wife, for the name of the priest wasReuel, but Jethro was 
the name of Moses’s father-in-law, and he was probably a son of 
Reuel’s. And by-and-by, Moses had a son ; and he called his 
name Gershom, which means a stranger , “ for he said, I have 
been a stranger in a strange land.” 

Moses had now lived about forty years in Midian, during all 
of which time his brethren, the children of Israel, were cruelly 
treated by the Egyptians. The law for killing their sons proba- 
bly did not last long, it was so extremely cruel ; and so they 
continued to increase in numbers. 

The king of Egypt, who made that law, had now died, but the 
children of Israel were still treated as slaves. They seem for a 
ong time not to have thought of crying earnestly to God in their 



child’s commentator. 137 


troubles ; but now “ their cry came up unto God by reason of 
the bondage. And God heard their groaning for he does hear 
“ the prayer of the destitute, and will not despise their prayer,” 
and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaacs 
and with J acob ; how he promised to bless them, and the people 
that should spring from them, their sons, and their sons’ sons for 
many generations. “ And God looked upon the children of Israel,” 
and pitied them, “ and God had respect unto them.” 


THE THIRD CHAPTER OF EXODUS. 


Moses and the Burning Bush. 

i\ “ And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire 
[/ out of the midst of a bush : and he looked, and, behold, the 

i bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.”- 

:p Ver. 2. 


Moses was employed as a shepherd, and he kept the flocks of 
Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian : and he led the 
flock into the desert, and came to the mountain of Horeb. 

Suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared to him, all covered 
with glory like fire, and he was in the midst of a bush. Moses 
wondered how the bush could be all in flames, and yet not con- 
sumed. 

But this had a meaning in it ; and it taught him, by an em- 
blem or sign, that as that bush had the angel of the Lord shining 
in it, so God is in the midst of his Church or people, who are 
often so called ; and though they in danger may look like the 
bush likely to be burnt, yet they shall never be destroyed. So 
did the Israelites appear in Egypt, like this bush, exposed to de- 
stroying flames, and so has the Church of God often appeared 
since ; but God has always safely preserved it. 

Moses would have gone nearer to the bush to see the wonder- 
ful sight, but the voice of God spoke from it, and calling him by 



1 



138 child’s commentator. 


name, commanded him not to go any nearer, and to pull off his 
shoes as a mark of reverence, as we take off our hats in the time 
of divine service ; for the place on which he stood was holy 
ground. 

Then God told him how his poor countrymen, the Israelites, 
were oppressed, and that he would send him to he their deliverer, 
and that they should yet possess a land flowing with milk, — that 
is, full of fine grass for cattle, the eating of which would fill them 
with milk, — and full also of honey, — that is, flowers in abundance, 
from which the bees should gather honey more than in any other 
part of the world ; both of which was true of Canaan. 

But Moses knew that to save his people was quite out of his 
power, and he inquired how it could come to pass. 

And God told him to go into Egypt, and to speak to the eld- 
ers, or old men and chiefs of Israel, and that they should mind 
what he said : and that they should all go to the king of Egypt, 
and ask leave to go and offer sacrifices to their God in the wil- 
derness, — a distance that would take them a journey of three days ; 
for instead of measuring distance by miles in those times, they 
always measured by the time a journey took, but they did not 
travel near so fast as we commonly do in this country. 

God also told Moses that the king of Egypt would not let them 
go at first, but he would make him do so ; and the Egyptians 
should at last be glad to let them go, and even give up their gold 
and silver for their use, which should be a just payment for all 
the hard labour that they had forced the Israelites to perform, 
without paying them for it. 

So you see, my dear reader, that though people may deal un- 
ustly towards one another, there is a just God who will reward 
the oppressed at last, if they do but put their trust in Him. 


MO SES* ROD TURNED INTO A SERPEN1 . 


I 









MOSES AND THE BURNING BUSH 






CHILD 8 COMMENTATOR. 


141 


THE FOURTH CHAPTER OF EXODUS. 

Moses performs Miracles, and goes with Aaron to the Israelites . 

“ And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand 1 And 
he said, A rod. 

“ And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the 
ground, and it became a serpent ; and Moses fled from before 
it. 

“ And the Lord said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take 
it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and 
it became a rod in his hand.” — Vers. 2 — 4. 


Moses now wanted to do some wonderful thing before the Is- 
raelites, such as could not be done by common skill, but only by 
the great power of God, and which we call miracles. These would 
prove that he was no impostor or cheat, and that God had really 
commanded him to become the deliverer of Israel, when he en- 
abled him to do these things. 

Then God commanded him to throw down a rod which he held 
in his hand, and it became a serpent. Then again he told him to 
take it up by the tail, and it became a rod. He also told him to 
put his hand into his bosom, and when he pulled it out it was 
leprous, — something like a person covered with the scurvy, or 
small-pox, but much worse : and then he told him to put his 
hand into his bosom again, and when he pulled it out it 
was well, although the leprosy was not a disorder that could 
usually be cured, but by the wonderful aid of God himself. He, 
indeed, blesses the means to heal all diseases, but here no means 
were usually of any benefit ; it was therefore a miracle , as has 
been before explained. 

God also told him, that if these miracles would not prove that 
he had sent him, he should perform more, and he should turn 
some of the water of the river Nile into blood. 

Moses then complained that he could not speak well ; but God 
asked him, who made his mouth ? and he could make him speak 
well. 


142 


child’s commentator. 


Still he did not like to go, till God was displeased with him for 
his unbelief, and he told him that Aaron his brother should speak 
for him. 

So Moses went to his father-in-law, and asked his leave to go 
into Egypt ; and he took his family with him, and his rod in his 
hand. 

And God, by some secret power, impressed Aaron’s mind 
with the thought that he must go and meet Moses. 

And when Moses had told Aaron all that had happened, they 
went together to the elders of Israel. And when they heard all 
that they were told, and saw the miracles performed, they be- 
lieved that God would deliver them, and they worshipped him. 


THE FIFTH CHAPTER OF EXODUS. 

Moses applies to Pharaoh. — Pharaoh's Obstinacy and Cruelty. 

“ And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should obey his 
voice to let Israel go 1 I know not the Lord, neither will I let 
Israel go.” — Ver. 2. 


Moses and Aaron now went to Pharaoh, and asked leave for 
the Israelites to go and worship in the wilderness. But Pharaoh 
knew nothing of the God of Israel, and he asked, “ Who is the 
Lord, that I should obey his voice ?” And he charged Moses and 
Aaron with making the people discontented ; and he desired that 
their work should be heavier, and that they should make the same 
number of bricks as before, but instead of having straw served 
out to them they should get it where they could ; for they used 
straw to make the clay of the bricks stick faster together ; and 
some of the bricks made at that time have been found in very 
ancient ruins in Egypt, and are kept by those who are curious in 
such things, and in these are straw with the clay. So the people 
wandered about the corn fields to get stubble instead of good 
straw ; and this took up so much time, that they could not make 
the number of bricks they were ordered to make. 


143 



child’s commentator. 


Then Pharaoh ordered the Israelitish officers to be beaten, 
probably by striking them hard on the soles of the feet, — a cruel 
punishment used in Egypt, called being bastinadoed. And when 
they complained to Pharaoh, he said, “Ye are idle, ye are idle 
and he told them to go again to their work. 

And they told Moses and Aaron how cruelly they were used, 
and blamed them for it : and Moses entreated the Lord in behalf 
of the poor Israelites. 


THE SIXTH CHAPTER OF EXODUS. 


I 


Moses again commanded to go to Pharaoh. 

“ And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 

“ Go in, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he let the chil • 
dren of Israel go out of his land.” — Vers. 10, 11. 


God again encouraged Moses, and told him to tell the children 
of Israel what he commanded him to say — “ I am the Lord, and 
I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, 
and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you 
with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments.” 

But the poor Israelites had lost all hope, and were so low- 
spirited from the cruel treatment they received, that they paid 
no attention to what Moses said. 


THE SEVENTH CHAPTER OF EXODUS. 

Beginning of the Ten Plagues of Egypt. The Plague of Blood. 

“ And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply my signs and 
my wonders in the land of Egypt.” — Ver. 3. 


God now permitted Pharaoh’s stubbornness and obstinacy to 
remain, and did not directly cut him off, that he might afterwards 
6 



144 


child’s commentator.' 


show his great power over those who dare to resist his will. This 
is what is meant by his hardening Pharaoh’s heart ; and not that 
he made him wicked, for God never does any wicked thing ; he 
is too good to do evil. 

Moses was now eighty years of age, and Aaron was eighty 
three, when they stood before Pharaoh. 

Now, as Pharaoh would require some proof of their coming 
from God with their demand to let the Israelites go, Moses and 
Aar >n were desired to use their rod, which, perhaps, had been 
Moses’s shepherd’s crook for catching the sheep by the legs, and 
with this they were to work the miracles already done. 

So when they came before Pharaoh, they did as the Lord had 
commanded ; and Aaron cast down bis rod before Pharaoh, and 
before his servants, and it became a serpent. 

Now Pharoah called together his magicians, who pretended 
to work miracles; and they brought rods and cast them down 
and they became serpents. 

Perhaps God permitted them to work this miracle, that he might 
at last completely put them to shame, and make them own his 
hand in what Moses and Aaron did ; or, perhaps, what they pro- 
duced seemed only to be serpents, as conjurors now play many 
cunning tricks of a similar kind. However, they turned their 
serpents again into rods, or, when the deception vanished, showed 
their rods in the places of the serpents : but Moses, with his divine 
power given him to work real miracles, was not to be mastered 
by these cunning magicians ; and what was most wonderful of all, 
his rod swallowed up their rods, as though it had been a living 
thing devouring others. This ought to have convinced Pharaoh 
that God worked by Moses ; but his heart was prejudiced against 
what he did, and perhaps he only thought him more clever than 
his magicians, and so he would not let the people go. 

Then God determined to afflict Egypt with great plagues. 

The first was the plague of blood , which lasted about seven days. 
The Egyptians were such stupid idolaters, that they worshipped 
beasts, birds, insects, and even things without life, as the river 
Nile, to which they sacrificed a boy or a girl every year ; probably 
flinging them in for the crocodiles to eat, as poor children have even 




CHILD 8 COMMENTATOR. 


145 


lately been sacrificed in the river Ganges in India. To show 
them how stupid it was, Moses was commanded to go to the river 
when Pharaoh went there, perhaps to bathe or to pay it some 
honours, — and to smite the waters with his rod, and they should 
become blood, and the fish should die, and the river stink, and 
the Egyptians nauseate the very water they were used to adore, 
and which is the most delicious and the most refreshing in the 
world. And when Moses smote the waters, all the waters in the 
rivers, and ponds, and even in the vessels in the houses, became 
blood. “ And there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.” 
Perhaps God here designed to punish the Egyptians for their 
cruelty, in having drowned so many poor helpless Hebrew infants 
in the Nile. The Egyptians then dug wells, and got good water, 
out of which it is supposed the magicians tried to work the same 
miracle ; and it was no very difficult thing, by a little dexterity, 
to mix something with the smaller quantity of water which they 
would try, and make it nasty, and red as blood. So Pharaoh 
still remamed obstinate, and would not let the people go. 


THE EIGHTH CHAPTER OF EXODUS. 

The Plagues of Frogs , of Lice , of Flies . 

Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of 
God.”— Ver. 19. 


^s Pharaoh would not let the people go, the Lord commanded 
Moses to threaten him with a second plague, which should be 
frogs. 

There was no need that in this case new frogs should be cre- 
ated, for there were heaps of them in the muddy bed of the Nile, 
grown and in spawn ; and a miracle would be plain enough to 
be seen, if all the young ones were brought at once to life, and 
the whole covered the land as Moses said. 

And now what he said to Pharaoh came to pass — “ And the 



146 


child’s commentator. 


river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and 
come into thine house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy 
bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, 
and into thine ovens, and into thy kneading troughs : and the 
frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon 
all thy servants.” 

You will wonder, perhaps, how the frogs could get into the 
ovens ; but the Egyptian ovens were only earthen pots sunk into 
the ground, into which they put their dough, and covered it with 
fire, and so baked it into bread. Here, when the fire was out, 
the frogs would easily fill the ovens. 

Now, frogs are very harmless creatures ; there is no need to 
be afraid of them : but people in general are not fond of them, 
and it must be very disgusting to tread upon them, and crush 
them at every step. 

Here, also, the magicians imitated Moses and Aaron ; for as 
there were plenty of frogs now about the land, a little skill in 
juggling might make them suddenly produce a few, as if they 
had called them from the Nile. 

However, they could not get rid of those that covered the land : 
and Pharaoh was obliged to ask Moses to beg of God Almighty 
that he would remove them. Moses did so ; but Pharaoh still 
remained obstinate, and would not let Israel go, though the 
miracle remained before his eyes ; “ and the frogs died out of the 
houses, out of the villages, and out of the fields. And they gath- 
ered them together upon heaps : and the land stank.” 

God then brought a third 'plague upon Egypt. Aaron at his 
command, “ stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the 
dust of the earth, and it became lice in man, and in beast ; all the 
dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.* 

The magicians tried also to imitate this plague ; but God 
bounded their power, and they could not do it. Then they said, 
“ This is the finger of God.” Some learned men think this plague 
was an insect called the tick , which is flat and round, and is worse 
than the noxious vermin called lice ; as it thrusts its little head 
and body into the flesh, and will not come out till it is torn in 
two, and dreadfully torments the body on which it fastens. 



child’s commentator. 


147 


This plague did not answer any purpose ; so a day or two after 
God threatened Pharaoh again : and as he would not mind it, 
“ there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, 
and into his servants’ houses, and into all the land of Egypt : 
the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies.” 

God could have made these from the dust as he did the lice ; 
but in ancient times, as in many places in the East still, people 
did not enough attend to cleanliness, and they threw their offals 
into the streets, and they became filthy, and everything was soon 
corrupt in a hot climate, and so bred insects in abundance. The 
gathering of these together under the divine control, was enough 
to punish Pharaoh and his people ; for many persons probably 
died of this fourth plague , — being stung to death, and having 
their bodies inflamed and thrown into a fever by these venomous 
little insects, which they could not escape ; for it is said in the 
seventy -eighth Psalm, when speaking of this plague, “ He sent 



divers sorts of flies among them which devoured them.” And 


this was not unjust in God, to punish the people as well as 
Pharaoh ; for they hated and ill-treated the poor Israelites quite 
as much as he did. 


All the time that these plagues existed, the Israelites in Go- 


shen were free from them, — a proof that God’s care was over them. 

Pharaoh now offered to let the people go, but he did not wish 
them to go far, and he begged of Moses to pray that the flies 
might be removed. But when this was done, he again refused to 
let the people go. 


THE NINTH CHAPTER OF EXODUS. 


The Plagues of Murrain , of Boils and Blains, and of Rain , Hail, 
and Fire. 

“ Behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thy cattle which is in the 
field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon 
the oxen, and upon the sheep.” — Ver. 3. 




148 child’s commentator. 


It was very foolish as well as very wicked for Pharaoh to con- 
tend against God Almighty, for he can do everything. So he 
sent a fifth plague, and caused a disease among the cattle of the 
Egyptians, and “ all the cattle of Egypt died,” — that is, all the 
cattle that the disease killed were belonging to Egypt, for some 
were afterwards killed in other ways ; — “ but of the cattle of the 
children of Israel died not one.” 

But Pharaoh was yet hardened. God, therefore, sent a sixth 
plague ; it was “ a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and 
upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt.” Moses and Aaron, 
at God’s command, “ took ashes of the furnace, and stood before 
Pharaoh ; and Moses sprinkled it up towards heaven ; and it be- 
came a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast. 
And the magicians could not stand before Moses, because of the 
boils ; for the boil was upon the magicians and upon all the 
Egyptians.” The ashes from the furnaces of the brick-kilns were 
thus turned into a righteous punishment, for the cruel treatment 
of the Israelites by the Egyptians. 

This was followed by a seventh plague of hail, fire, and thunder. 
You know that thunder-storms are very alarming, and that they 
sometimes kill men and beasts, and knock down houses; and 
hail-stones will break windows, and do a great deal of other mis- 
chief. We have had in our own land fearful hail storms, 
which have resulted in very great loss of life and property. 
God Almighty had but to speak the word, and such a 
storm would instantly be gathered. The people were warned of 
the danger, and cautioned not to go themselves, nor to leave out 
their cattle- in the fields, for the hail should come down upon them 
and they should die. “ And he that feared the word of the Lord 
among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle 
flee into the houses : and he that regarded not the word of the 
Lord left his servants and his cattle in the field.” And now 
again “ Moses stretched forth his rod towards heaven : and the 
Lord sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along the ground.” 
And “ all that was in the field,” man and beast, and herb and 
tree, perished. “ Only in the land of Goshen, where the children 
of Israel were, was there no hail.” 






MOSES AND AARON BEFORE PHARAOH 





THE PLAGUE OF LOCUSTS. 















child’s COMMENTATOR. 151 

Pharaoh was now sadly frightened, and sent for Moses, and 
begged him to pray to God to stop the “ mighty thunderings and 
hail but when they were over. Pharaoh again would not let the 
people go. 


THE TENTH CHAPTER OF EXODUS. 

The Plagues of Locusts and Darkness. 

“That thou mayest tell in the.ears of thy son, and of thy son’s 
son, what things I have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which 
I have done among them ; that ye may know how that I am 
the Lord.” — Ver. 2. 


God now threatened Pharaoh with the plague of locusts, which 
was the eighth plague. 

And Pharaoh’s servants tried to persuade him to let the He- 
brews go ; for they began to see that Moses was God’s prophet, 
and that what he said was true. 

But Pharaoh would only let the men go, without their wives 
and children, and flocks and herds ; so that he might be sure they 
must soon return. 

So Moses stretched out his rod, and the Lord brought a wind 
that brought locusts with it, and “ they covered the face of the 
whole earth, so that the land was darkened ; and they did eat 
every herb of the land-, and all the fruit of the trees which the 
hail had left : and there remained not any green thing in the 
trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt.” 








152 child’s commentator. 


Perhaps you do not know what locusts are. 1 will tell you 
They are like a large grasshopper, with wings of a green colour, 
and are about as thick as a man’s finger, and not quite so long as 
his thumb. They travel in such large bodies, that they prevent 
the light of the sun like a cloud. Wherever they alight, they 
devour faster than grasshoppers; and you know that these 
do a great deal of injury in our fields and gardens. After a 
visit of locusts, the leaves of every herb and tree disappear, and 
look as if a fire had destroyed them. When they lay their eggs, 
they produce worms or caterpillars ; and these are dreadfully de- 
structive. They crawl in immense bodies or numbers united. 
The people try to stop them with fires, and trenches with water 
in them ; but they march on over one another’s bodies till they 
find a passage, and by their numbers they put out the fire and 
fill up the water-trenches. If many of them die, they infect the 
air, and produce a killing disease called a pestilence. 

Well, these dreadful insects, as we have said, visited the Egyp- 
tians, and destroyed all their fields, and entered into all their 
houses ; and it was such a visit of locusts as neither they, nor 
their fathers, nor their fathers’ fathers, had seen. 

Then Pharaoh again “ called for Moses and Aaron in haste ; 
and he said, I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against 
you. Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, 
and intreat the Lord your God, that he may take away from me 
this death only.” 

As Moses was a good man, he took no pleasure in Pharaoh’s 
punishment, and he prayed to God even for his enemy, as good 
men do. “ And the Lord turned a mighty strong west wind, 
which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red Sea ; 
there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt.” 

Well, surely Pharaoh would now let the children of Israel go. 
No ; he would not. So God told Moses to stretch out his hand 
toward heaven, that there might be “darkness over the land of 
Egypt, even darkness which may be felt ;” supposed to have been 
a very thick mist or fog ; and it lasted three days, so that the 
people saw not one another, neither did they rise from the place 
where they were. They were so frightened, that they knew not 



153 



. child’s commentator. 

what to do ; and if the darkness was caused by a damp mist or 
fog, it would put out every fire and every light, which, no doubt, 
it did. Besides, some were caught in the fields and roads, and 
could not find their way home ; and as the wild beasts prowled 
about and roared, and the serpents hissed at night, they must 
have been dreadfully terrified. This was the ninth plague. 

But while this plague lasted, the part where the children of 
Israel lived was free from it, for “ all the children of Israel had 
light in their dwellings.” 

Pharaoh now offered to let the children of Israel go, if they 
would leave their flocks and herds behind ; but how could they 
live without these 1 

And he was now in so great a rage at Moses, that he threat- 
ened to kill him, if he dared again to ask leave for the children of 
Israel to go. 

So as he would not let them go free to sacrifice to the Lord 
their God in the wilderness, God would now force him, by more 
terrible punishments than he had yet suffered. 


THE ELEVENTH AND TWELFTH CHAPTERS OF EXODUS. 

Destruction of the First-born of Egypt , and Release of the Children 

of Israel. 

“ And the Lord said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague 
more upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt ; afterwards he will let 
you go hence : when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust 
you out hence altogether.” — Chap. xi. 1. 

“ And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, 
about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, besides 
children. 

“ And a mixed multitude went up also with them ; and flocks, 
and herds, even very much cattle.” — Chap. xii. 37, 38. 


The tenth and last plague was about to fall upon Pharaoh, and 
a most terrible plague it was. 

“ And Moses said, Thus saith the Lord, About midnight will 


154 


CHILD'S COMMENTATOR. 


go out into the midst of Egypt ; and all the first-born in the land 
of Egypt shall die, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sitteth upon 
his throne, even unto the first-born of the maid-servant that is 
behind the mill ; and all the first-born of beasts. And there shall 
be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there 
was none like it, nor shall be like it any more. But against any 
of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against 
man or beast : that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a 
difference between the Egyptians and Israel.” 

This plague was the most alarming of all. “ And Pharaoh 
rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyp- 
tians ; and there was a great cry in Egypt ; for there was not a 
house where there was not one dead.” 

Only think how shocking it would be in the place where you 
live, if, some night, the eldest or the chief in every house, for that 
is also meant here by first-born, should be found dead ! What 
gloom would appear on every face in the morning ! every house 
and shop would be shut up, and all around would be weeping 
and in distress. But in Egypt, when any died, the people ran 
into the streets, and howled, and showed their grief in the strong- 
est manner. What a scene of distress must there have been in 
the streets, when some from every house ran out and cried ! 

Pharaoh was now convinced that it was in vain to fight against 
God, and was, probably, afraid for his own life, and for the lives 
of all his pepple. So “he called for Moses and Aaron by night, 
and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both 
ye and the children of Israel ; and go, serve the Lord as ye have 
said. Also take your flooks and your herds, as ye have said, 
and be gone ; and bless me also. And the Egyptians were ur- 
gent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land 
in haste ; for they said, We be all dead men.” 

So the children of Israel went away in so much haste, that they 
even carried their dough with them that was mixed for their bread, 
without having time to bake it. And having been cheated out 
of their wages for their hard labor, they borrowed, or rather asked , 
for some silver and gold from the Egyptians, — for they would not 
at God’s command have borrowed without intending to pay ; and 



CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 

the people, glad to get rid of them, in their fright gave them jew- 
els of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: “ And the Lord 
gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they 
lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled 
the Egyptians,” by obtaining from them so much money ; and 
in this way a righteous God caused them to receive those wages 
for all their hard labour, which the Egyptians had withheld from 
them when they made them slaves. 

In memory of this great event, God established what is called 
the Pass-over. 

On the evening when the first-born were to be slain, a Iamb 
was to be killed by each Israelitish family, who were to eat its 
flesh with bitter herbs, in remembrance of their bitter bondage in 
Egypt. The lamb’s blood was ordered to be sprinkled on the 
lintel of each door, or that part which is over our heads when we 
enter ; and also on the door-posts ; and when the destroying angel, 
or the stroke of death, should visit the Egyptians, not a single 
injury should happen to those whose doors were so sprinkled. 

This Pass-over , as it was called, because in that night God’s 
wrath should pass over the houses of the Israelites, was also to 
show how those should escape Divine wrath who should by faith 
be sprinkled, as it were, with the blood of Jesus Christ, who is 
called “ The Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the 
world or, in other words, “ Whoever believes in Him who 
shed his blood that sinners might not die for ever, shall never 
perish, but have eternal life.” 


THE THIRTEENTH AND FOURTEENTH CHAPTERS OF EXODUS. 

The Departure of the Children of Israel from Egypt , and the 
Drowning of Pharaoh and his Army in the Red Sea. 

“ And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to 
lead them by the way ; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give 
them light ; ‘to go by day and night.”— Chap. xiii. 21. 

And now the children of Israel set off to leave Egypt. There 
were six hundred thousand men on foot, and with the Levites, 


child’s commentator. 


156 

who were not reckoned in that number, and also their wives and 
children, it is supposed the whole were above three millions. 
This was indeed a large body. 

And as they were commanded to travel in the wilderness, a 
wild and dreary place, where they might lose their way, and fall 
into the hands of enemies, they were guided by a cloud in the 
air, which was of the shape of a pillar, and which at night was 
light on their side, but dark on the other. 

By this cloud they were guided, when Pharaoh repented of 
letting them go, and said, “ Why have we done this, that we have 
let Israel go from serving us h And he made ready his chariot, 
and took his people with him, and he took six hundred thousand 
chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every 
one of them “ and he pursued after the children of Israel.” 
And he overtook them encamping, or resting in their tents, by 
the sea. On both sides were mountains and strong towers, so 
that, with his army behind them, they had no way of escape, but 
through the sea ; and how could they get through the sea without 
ships, while they had not so much as even a boat with them 1 

Pharaoh now thought that they were “ entangled in the land,” 
and that “ the wilderness had shut them in.” 

The children of Israel, too, were alarmed, and forgot what 
great things God had done for them, and they began to cry out 
against Moses, and to say to him, “Because there were no* graves 
in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness V 1 “ It 
had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we 
should die in the wilderness.” 

Moses had more faith in God, and he said, “ Fear ye not, stand 
still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will show to you 
to-day ; for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to-day, ye shall see 
them again no more for ever. The Lord shall fight for you, and 
ye shall hold your peace.” Why, to be sure, the same God that 
had wrought all the miracles for them in Egypt, to oblige Pharaoh 
to let them go, could now prevent him from taking them again. 

And Now' God ordered Moses to lift up his rod, and stretch 
his hand out to the sea, and the children of Israel should “ go on 
dry ground through the midst of the sea,” 




I 


The cloud began to move, and the children of Israel were com 
manded to go forward. And the cloud came between the camp 
of Egyptians and the camp of Israel ; and it was a cloud of dark- 
ness to the Egyptians, but it gave light by night to the Israelites ; 
so that the one came not near to the other all night. And the 
Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that 
night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. 

This was in one sense, a miracle ; that is, it was different 
from the ordinary course of events, and it was ordered by God 
at this particular time for the deliverance of his people, and 
the destruction of the Egyptians ; but there is no need of 
making it greater than it really was. It is generally thought 
that this crossing took place near the present town of Suez, at 
the north end of the Gulf of Suez, which formerly extended 
further than now. This Gulf is shallow, not more than twelve 
or fifteen feet deep, and the east or rather south wind, under 
God’s command, might well make it dry enough for the Israel- 
ites to pass over, as the distance across was probably not more 
than five or six miles. 

“ And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the 
midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his 
horsemen.” 

Most likely Pharaoh went on in the dark, and did not know 
where he was before he found out his danger. “ And it came to 
pass that in the morning watch,” which was from about three 
o’clock in the morning till six, when the watchmen on the towers 
were changed, “ the Lord looked upon the host of the Egyptians 
through the pillar of fire and of cloud, and troubled the host of 
the Egyptians.” Probably a storm gathered in the cloud, and it 
might thunder and lighten ; for in the Psalms it is said, when 
this deliverance is named, “ The voice of thy thunder was in the 
heavens, the lightnings lightened the world, the earth trembled 
and shook.’ —(See the 77th Psalm.) And the Lord “ took off 
their chariot- wheels, that they drave them heavily for by the 
storm he so terrified the drivers, that they, perhaps, ran against 
one another, and broke each other’s chariots to pieces ; and, be- 
sides, the bottom of the sea might again become wet and heavy. 



child s commentator. 


157 



158 



child’s commentator. 




so that the chariots could not go forward without violent drag 
ging and breaking. 

And now the Egyptians saw their danger, and said, “ Let us 
flee from the face of Israel : for the Lord fighteth for them against 
the Egyptians.” 

At this moment God commanded Moses again to stretch his 
hand over the sea, and the waters should return : and he did so, 
and all the army of Egypt was drowned. 

God could have done all this without Moses using his rod, but 
he would by this teach him to obey his commands, and then all 
would be well with him, and he would have Israel respect him as 
his servant and their leader. 

The morning showed a most fearful sight, for the shores were 
strewed with dead bodies and wrecks : there remained not so 
much as one Egyptian. 

“ Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the 
Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea- 
shore. And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon 
the Egyptians ; and the people feared the Lord, and believed the 
Lord, and his servant Moses.” 





! 


! 


: 

I 



150 



THE FIFTEENTH CHAPTER OF EXODUS. 

Moses’s Song . 

“ Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the 
Lord.” — Ver. 1. 


It was very usual in old time, after great victories, to sing 
some song of joy, and Moses now composed a song of praise to 
God. “ And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a 
timbrel in her hand ; and all the women went out after her with 
timbrels and with dances.” And these joined in the chorus, 

1 ) “ Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously : the 

horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.” 
i As my young readers may like this song in verse, I have 

' thrown it into that form, and hope they will try and understand 
it, because poetry is not quite so easy to understand as prose; 
but some of the most difficult words are marked, and the same 
mark at the bottom of the page explains their meaning, 


THE SONG OF MOSES AND ISRAEL. 


( Exodus xv. 1—21.) 

I will sing to God Most High, 

He hath triumphed gloriously ; 
Horse and rider find their grave 
Buried in the stormy wave. 

In the Lord my heart is strong ; 
Him I honour in my song ; 
Mighty dangers press’d me round, 
Here my soul salvation found. 



160 


child’s commentator. 


For my God this heart of mine 
Sacred be, a living shrine ; * 

Him my fathers lov’d to praise ; 

He shall have my loftiest lays, f 

In his fiery gilded car 

See him ride — a man of war ; 

Let his foemen J read his name, 
Dazzling, writ in furious flame. 

Chariots now, nor martial § hosts, 
Egypt’s haughty nation boasts, — 
Prince and warriors renown’d 
In the avenging sea are drown’d. 

In the ocean’s deepest gloom 
They have found a hidden tomb ; 

As the rock that bounds its wave, 
Falling, — sinks, — they found a grave. 

Thy right hand in that dread day, 
Glorious Lord ! resum’d its sway ; 
Thy right hand’s resistless blow 
Crush’d the proud presumptuous foe. 

In thy majesty and might 
Thou hast foil’d || them in the fight ; 
As the lightning glanc’d thine ire, % 
They were chaff before its fire. 

At thy breath, the spreading deep 
Gather’d in a liquid heap ; 

And as frozen walls arose. 

Us to guard, and whelm our foes. 

* Shrine means a case which holds something sacred. 
t A lay is another word for a song. 
t Foemen signifies fighting enemies. 

$ Martial means warlike. 

|| Foiled them, means beaten them off , or defeated them. 
If Ire means great anger, or wrath. 





CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 

Then th’ Egyptian, in his pride, 

“ Vengeance ! Vengeance !” madly cried ; 
Now reward the soldier’s toil — 

Now pursue, divide the spoil. 

Now amidst the o’erwhelming flood, 

Let us haste to shed their blood — 
Haste till vengeance hath its fill, 

Draw the sword, nor cease to kill 

Then the winds their power deride, 

Dash them in the foaming tide ; 

Shrouded f in the waves they sleep, 

Sunk, like lead, beneath the deep. 

♦ 

Egypt’s gods J before thee fall ; 

Glorious, holy Lord of all ! 

Terrible art thou in praise, 

Wondrous in thy works and ways ! 

Thou did’st wave thy ruling hand — 
Earth obey’d the high command, 

Like a monster gulp’d its prey 
Hastening o’er the sandy way.|| 

But the people of thy care 
Found redeeming mercy there ; 

Thou hast brought the honour’d race 
To a lasting dwelling place. 

When the tribes of Canaan hear, 

Iron hearts shall melt with fear, 

Edom’s chieftains stand aghast, 

Moab’s shake as with a blast. 


t Egypt’s idols, or false go<?9 

|j The sandy way, the bottom of the sea. 


f Shrouded means covered. 
IT That is, captains. 


/ 

! 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 

Thus shall smite them fear and dread, 
As thy vast exploits shall spread ; 
Giant hearts are petrified * 

When the wat’ry paths divide. 

Led by thine Almighty hand, 

We shall gain the promis’d land; 
Grow, implanted by thy grace, 

In thine hallow’d dwelling place. 

He, the mighty Lord, shall reign, 
And his empire wide retain ; 

Reign when time itself shall die, 
Seated on eternity ! 

Pharaoh’s horse and men of might, 
Perish’d in that dreadful night ; 

God o’erwhelm’d him with his sea, 
Sav’d his people gloriously. 

CHORUS. 

Miriam and the Women. 

Sing ye to the Lord Most High, 

He hath triumph’d gloriously ; 

Horse and rider find their grave 
Buried in the stormy wave. 


You would have supposed, that after so great a proof of the care 
which God Almighty took of the Israelites, they never would have 
murmured any more at Moses, as if he had used them ill in taking 
them away from their slavery in Egypt. But Israel were a very 
dissatisfied kind of people, and they tried the patience even of 
Moses, who was the meekest man in the world, and so not easily 

* Petrified means turned to stone, that is, made cold, or become dead. 



child’s commentator. 163 

made angry; and they provoked God to anger against them by 
their perverse dispositions. Not that God is ever provoked as 
we are, for we sin when we are in a passion ; but when God 
threatened to treat Israel as we do people against whom we are 
provoked, then he was called so. 

In a little time the Israelites came to a place called Marah. 
“ And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the 
waters of Marah, for they were bitter : therefore the name of it 
was called Marah,” which means bitter. “ And the people mur- 
mured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? And he 
cried unto the Lord ; and the Lord showed him a tree, which 
when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet.” 


THE SIXTEENTH CHAPTER OF EXODUS. 


The Israelites fed with Manna. 

“ And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they 
came to a land inhabited ; they did eat manna until they came 
unto the borders of the land of Canaan.” — Ver. 35. 


Well, surely the children of Israel must have done complaining 
now. Who would not trust in such a God as the God of Israel ? 
No, they have not done yet ; Moses relates more about their dis- 
content. You, perhaps, say within yourself, “ Well, I would not 
have done so.” But, my dear reader, you do not know what you 
would have done had you been in the wilderness with them. You 
have a deceitful heart, and people now often mistrust Providence 
when he is good to them, and taking care of them every day. 
Learn to trust in the Almighty God, and he will not forsake you, 
if you pray to him from the heart. “ Give us this day our daily 
bread, and forgive us our trespasses.” 

But Israel seemed unwilling to trust God for their daily bread ; 
and when their supply ran shoit after leaving Egypt, they began 
to be angry at Moses again. And they said to Moses and Aaron, 



L 


161 





CHILD B COMMENTATOR. 

11 Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land 
of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots where, probably, their 
food as slaves was cooked in a large quantity, under the eyes of 
their task-masters ; “ and,” they added, “ when we did eat bread 
to the full ; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness to 
kill this whole assembly with hunger.” 

And do you not wonder that Moses could bear all this quietly, 
when so much had been done for Israel, or rather that God should 
still spare and not destroy them ? God is indeed long-suffering, 
and instead of punishing the ungrateful people, he said unto 
Moses, “ Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you ; and the 
people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I 
may prove them, whether they will walk in my law or no.” 

So in the evening God used to cause a great quantity of a bird 
called a quail, something like a partridge, to cover the camp, which 
the Israelites caught ; and in the morning a white-looking small 
thing, as small as hoar frost, covered the ground when the dew 
had left it. This food was more wonderful than the regular com- 
ing of large flights of quails. The people had never seen any- 
thing like it, and they cried out — Man hu ? what is this 1 from 
which some think it got the name manna ; though others suppose 
it means a portion , as there was a Hebrew word like it with this 
meaning. Every one who was able was to gather this food be- 
fore the sun had risen, or it would be melted ; and when it was 
put into one heap, it was divided among the people, allowing an 
omer , which was about three quarts for each person’s use for the 
day. This was put into a mortar and bruised, or ground in a 
mill, and then made into bread. God caused this to fall six days 
in the week ; but on the sixth day, they were to gather for two 
days, as they were not to expect any on the Sabbath ; for on that 
day they were to do no manner of work ; and though it bred 
worms, and was unfit to eat, if kept for two days at any other 
time, yet it was always good on the Sabbath. 

It is reckoned that the Hebrew camp wanted not less than 
ninety-four thousand four hundred and sixty-six bushels of this 
food every day ; and that in the whole of the forty years that they 
were travelling about in the wilderness, they must have consumed 




child’s commentator. 1 65 

one thousand three hundred and seventy million two hundred 
and three thousand six hundred bushels ! 

In remembrance of this miracle, the Lord commanded Moses 
to fill an omer measure of it, which I just told you was about 
three quarts, and to keep it in a pot for future generations ; that 
is, the children and children’s children of Israel, from one hundred 
years to another, — that they might see the bread with which God 
fed them in the wilderness when he brought them forth out of the 
land of Egypt. This was laid up in the ark ; and its preservation 
was another miracle, as, without that, it would have bred worms, 
and become corrupt as the rest when kept. 

God provided thus from day to day , to teach Israel to look to 
him for their daily bread, and, in like manner, we must look and 
ask for ours from God ; for he could soon, if he pleased, make us 
so poor that we could buy no bread, and so weak that we could 
not labour for any. 

This manna coming down from heaven to keep Israel alive, 
reminds us that Jesus Christ came down from heaven, who is the 
bread of life ; and that whoever, by faith, looks to him for salva- 
tion, believing that he is both able and willing to save his soul 
for ever, shall not perish, but have eternal life. 


THE SEVENTEENTH CHAPTER OF EXODUS. 

Moses smites the Rock — Israel defeats the Amalekites. 

“ And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and 
take with thee of the elders of Israel ; and thy rod, wherewith 
thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. 

“ Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb ; 
and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out 
of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the 
sight of the elders of Israel, 

“And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge 
of the sword.” — Vers. 5, 6, 13. 


166 child’s commentator. 

When shall we hear the last of Israel’s murmurings ? Here 
they are murmuring again at a place called Rephidim. They 
wanted water, and chided Moses, and said, “ Give us water, that 
we may drink.” “ Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up 
out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with 
thirst ?” 

Was not this very provoking, after all that had been done for 
them? Well, a patient God still bore with them, and ordered 
Moses to take his rod and smite the rock in Horeb ; and to show 
them that it was a miracle, water should instantly gush out from 
this hard rock. “ And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of 
Israel.” 

The truth of this history is supposed by some, even to be proved 
now by a sight of the rock ; for travellers inform us that there 
are holes and channels in a rock which is shown, through which 
water has rushed out ; and that no art of man could have made 
them ; some, however, suspect that artful persons have made 
them, to get money by showing the rock. So many parts of this 
history are proved to be correct, that there is no need of our 
now seeing the rock to help us to believe the story here told. 
We believe that God could and did ftring the water out of the 
rock when struck by Moses. 

The Apostle Paul says, “ This rock was Christ :” he does not 
mean Christ himself, but that it resembled Christ, who, as he lives 
for ever, is sometimes called a Rock , as a rock is one of the most 
lasting things in the world ; and it is from him flows all true 
happiness, which is, to the mind or soul of man, as refreshing as 
the streams of water were, flowing from the rock to the Israelites 
in the wilderness. Read the seventh chapter of John and the 
thirty-seventh verse. 

The Israelites had now a real cause of trouble ; for a people, 
called the Amalekites, came upon them in the wilderness, intending 
to kill them, and rob them of all their cattle and whatever else 
they had got. But again God appeared to save them. Joshua 
was a brave man, and Moses desired him to choose out men, and 
go out and fight with King Amalek. And Moses, and Aaron, 
and Hur, went up to the top of a hill ; and there Moses held up 


CHILD 8 COMMENTATOR. 


167 


the rod of God in his hand, and no doubt prayed to God that he 
would save Israel from their enemies. And when his hands grew 
tired with holding them up, then Aaron and Hur supported them ; 
“ and Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of 
the sword.” 

Probably the arms cast ashore from the Red Sea, after the 
Egyptians were drowned, were those which were used to beat off 
the Amalekites ; and if so, God overruled the wickedness of one 
enemy to prevent that of another. Oh, it is a good thing to have 
God for our protection ! Let us only put our trust in him, and 
we shall never be ashamed, nor confounded. 

This was a cruel and unjust attack of Amalek upon the Israel- 
ites, who he, perhaps, thought were too weak to defend themselves, 
and weary, -and hungry, and thirsty, which they would have been, 
if God had not so wonderfully provided for them. But God 
punished them by their shameful defeat ; and he also swore that 
he would have war with Amalek from generation to generation, 
and that he would “ utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek.” 
When it is said God hath sworn , it means that he speaks very 
solemnly, and with a fixed resolution ; and it always deserves 
particular notice, for it relates to something very important. And 
in the fifteenth chapter of the first book of Samuel you will read 
of the fulfilment of this threat, when the Amalekites having 
become so wicked, that they were a curse to the earth on which 
they lived, God told King Saul to “go and utterly destroy the 
sinners, the Amalekites.” 

Pray to God, my dear reader, that you may never, by unre- 
pented sin, make him your enemy, and that his threatenings 
against sinners may not be executed against you. 




168 



child’s commentator. 


T11E NINETEENTH AND TWENTIETH CHAPTERS OF EXODUS. 

The Giving of the Law. 

“ And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord 
descended upon it in fire : and the smoke thereof ascended as 
the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.” 
— Chap. xix. 18. 


We pass over the eighteenth chapter, which gives an account 
of a visit of Jethro to Moses, his son-in-law T , with some good ad- 
vice which he gave him for governing the people. 

About three months after God had delivered his people from 
the tyrant Pharaoh, he spake to Moses, and desired him to remind 
them of the great favours he had bestowed upon them ; and to tell 
them that if they would obey his voice, and keep his covenant 
or agreement that he would make with them, then he would 
always do them good, and he would keep them wdth as much care 
as a man would keep his treasures of silver and gold, and they 
should be a particular nation sacred to his service. 

Moses told the Israelites what God had said to him. “And all 
the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath 
spoken we will do.” 

Then Moses having returned the words of the people unto the 
Lord, he was ordered to warn them to be ready by holy and solemn 
preparation, such as washing their clothes, as a sign of putting off 
everything that w'as impure, and in three days he would come 
down and show his glory in the sight of all of them upon mount 
Sinai, which is a mountain in Arabia. 

He also ordered Moses to set bounds to keep the people from 
going too near to the foot of the mountain ; as every one who 
touched even its borders should die. 

“ And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that 
there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the 
mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud ; so that all 
the people that was in the camp trembled.” “ And mount Sinai 













THE DESTRUCTION OF PHARAOH AND HIS HOST. 









child’s commentator. 


171 


was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in 
fire : and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, 
and the whole mount quaked greatly.” 

And God spake all the words of his commandments, and from 
the mount they were heard by all the people. 

These commandments are ten in number. I hope you have 
learnt them, and know them, so that I need not repeat them here ; 
and as they are all for the good of mankind, pray to God to write 
them in your heart as well as your memory. 

I shall only tell you what each commandment means, and you 
can read the whole in the twentieth chapter of Exodus. 

The first is against idolatry, and teaches us to love nothing 
more than God. 

The second is against worshipping images for God ; and though 
you are better taught, millions in other countries still do this ; 
oh, pity them and pray for them, and help to save them from 
their heathen state. 

The third is against cursing and swearing — a vulgar as well as 
a wicked practice. 

The fourth is against Sabbath-breaking , and idleness in the other 
days of the week : and by it we learn that God is highly displeas- 
ed if we work, or play, or do anything contrary to the holiness of 
the Sabbath while it lasts ; but during six days we are to labour, 
and not give up ourselves to idleness, for those who will not work 
ought not to eat. Even if God has given us enough to find us 
comforts without labour, we ought to employ ourselves in doing 
some good for mankind ; it will prevent us from doing evil ; 


For Satan finds some mischief still 
For idle hands to do.” 


The fifth is against disrespect and disobedience to parents. If 
they are even wdcked, and do not serve God, you must not treat 
them with any want of respect ; though you are not, then, to do 
wickedly if they tell you, because God is above your parents, and 
you must first of all obey him. But I hope your parents love 
and serve God, and teach you to worship him ; and if so, you 
ought doubly to love them, and to do everything to please them 
and to make them happy ; and this will please God. 

7 





The sixth is against murder : and as God looks at the heart, and 
murder mostly begins in anger, let us beware of being angry ; for 
the Bible tells us that even he that hateth his brother is a murderer. 

The seventh is against everything that is indecent in word or 
behaviour. 

The eighth is against stealing and cheating. 

The ninth forbids false stories about our neighbours, and tend- 
ing to do them harm, by making people think badly of them. I 
am sorry to say there are many people, that pretend to be reli- 
gious, who often break this commandment ; but it is very wicked, 
and God will punish them for it if they do not repent. 

The tenth commandment is against covetousness, or desiring 
what does not belong to us ; and that is a sin that will make us 
unhappy with all the good things God may give us, and put us in 
danger of trying bad ways to get at what belongs to other people. 


THE TWENTY-FIRST, TWENTY-SECOND, AND TWENTY-THIRD CHAPTERS 

OF EXODUS. 

Laws given to the Israelites by Moses. 

“ Now these are the judgments [or laws] which thou shalt set be- 
fore them.” — Chap. xxi. 1 . 


In these chapters there are a great many things which children 
cannot understand, and which will not, at present, be particularly 
interesting to you. But when you grow older, you will both 
understand and value them. But there are some verses that you 
may do well to remember, and that you can understand. I will 
mention them. They are Laws which God told Moses to com- 
mand the Israelites to keep. 

“ And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall surely 
be put to death.” 

“ And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be 
put to death.” 

This was God’s own law given to the J ews, and it tells you and 
me how much children ought to respect their parents, when dis- 
obedience was, in old times, to be punished with death. 



child’s commentator. 173 

“ And he that stealeth a man and selleth him, or if he be found 
in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.” 

From this we learn, that all Slave-dealers are bad men, and do 
that which is cruel and wicked, when they buy and sell the poor 
blacks to work as slaves. 

Then there are laws which God gave to the Jews against peo- 
ple hurting one another, and when they did so, ordering them to 
make amends ; and this we should always do if we have unjustly 
injured another : to neglect to do so is very wicked. 

“ If thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, thou 
shalt surely bring it back to him again. If thou see the ass of 
him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest for- 
bear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him.” 

This would be kind to the poor animals, for if their master had 
offended any one, this was not their fault that they should be 
punished. Besides, it would help to show a forgiving spirit, and 
this we should try and cherish. 

These chapters, too, give some lessons about being kind to the 
poor, which we should always be ; for we may be poor ourselves 
some day, though we may be rich now, and then we shall be glad 
to have kindness shown to us ; besides, it shows a good disposi- 
tion to feel compassion for the poor and needy ; and it makes us 
like that kind Saviour, “ who though he was rich, for our sakes 
became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich.” 

In these chapters we have also some commands given to the 
Hebrews to keep several feasts. 

In the twenty-third chapter, and the fourteenth and following 
verses, God commands the Hebrews, “ Three times thou shalt 
keep a feast unto me in the year.” 

The first feast was the feast of unleavened bread , or the Pass- 
over, to remind them of their great deliverance out of Egypt. 
Then they were to kill a Lamb, and feast on it ; to call to mind 
how God'saved them by the sprinkling of the blood of a Lamb on 
their door-posts, on the night when he slew all the first-born in 
Egypt ; and pious men would, by faith, look for salvation in Jesus 
Christ, who is called the “ Lamb of God,” when God shall destroy 
the wicked world in the last day. Part of the time of this feast 



child’s commentator. 


174 

they were to eat unleavened bread, as they did when they escaped 
from Egypt. The first day was, indeed, properly the Passover, 
and seven days following, the feast of unleavened bread. I have 
before told you something about this ; this bread not being plea- 
sant to the taste, was to remind the Israelites how bitter was their 
bondage in Egypt when God delivered them. You know we keep 
days in memory of particular events. For instance, we cele- 
brate the Fourth of July, or Independence day, as it is called, 
being the day when this country was declared free from the 
rule of Great Britain. The ringing of bells, firing of cannon, 
torpedoes, and Chinese crackers, etc., etc., are all intended as 
an expression of joy that our nation has obtained its freedom, 
and could henceforth act for itself. This was a great event for 
us, but not greater than the deliverance of the people of Israel 
from the cruel bondage in which they were so long held by the 
Egyptians ; and as God had wrought such signs and wonders 
in their behalf, they had good reason for keeping the Passover 
as a constant reminder of his exceeding great goodness. 

When this feast was kept, the children would often ask what it 
meant, and they were answered, “ Children, we were all servants, 
like this maid-servant, or this man-servant who waiteth” — point- 
ing to some servant in the family, — “ and on this night, many 
years ago, the Lord redeemed us and brought us to liberty and 
he who sat at the head of the table returned thanks, and said, 
“ Blessed be thou, O Lord our God, King everlasting, who hast 
redeemed us, and redeemed our fathers out of Egypt, and brought 
us to this night to eat unleavened bread and bitter herbs.” 

Another yearly feast of the Hebrews was the Feast of Harvest, 
sometimes called the Feast of Weeks, but better known by the 
name of The Feast of Pentecost. The Jews then offered thanks 
to God for the bounties of the harvest, in bread baked of the new 
corn. On that day, too, they celebrated the giving of the Law on 
Mount Sinai. This feast was kept fifty days after the Passover. 

The feast of Pentecost has a great interest for us as being 
the time when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples of 
J esus Christ, to bless all his sincere followers. Of this you will 
loam more before you come to the end of this work. 



child’s commentator. 175 


The Feast of Tabernacles was the third great feast. This was 
sometimes called The Feast of Tents and The Feast of the Inga- 
thering. This feast was to call to memory the way in which Is- 
rael lived when God protected them in the wilderness, in move, 
able tents or tabernacles, something like what you see put up 
sometimes in gardens, to screen people from wet and heat, or in 
fields at fairs, or reviews. This feast, like the Passover, lasted for 
a week, during which time the people all lived in booths or arbours, 
made of the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and 
the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook. This feast, 
being at the close of harvest, was also a yearly thanksgiving for 
God’s goodness in giving them an opportunity of getting it in. 

These feasts were not kept riotously, but with religious wor- 
ship and reverence. 


\ THE TWENTY-FOURTH, TWENTY-FIFTH, TWENTY-SIXTH, TWENTY-SE- 
VENTH, TWENTY-EIGHTH, TWENTY-NINTH, THIRTIETH, AND 
THIRTY-FIRST CHAPTERS OF EXODUS. 

The Tabernacle , its Furniture , and Priests. 

“ And let them make me a sanctuary ; that I may dwell among 
them. 

“ According to all that I show thee, after the pattern of the tab- 
ernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so 
shall ye make it.” — Chap. xxv. 8, 9. 


Moses told all the people the laws of God, and they promised, 
“ all the words which the Lord hath said we will do.” And 
Moses wrote down all the words in a book, called the book of 
the covenant or agreement, and he made offerings to God, and he 
took of the blood of the sacrifices and sprinkled on the people, 
which was an understood sign that they solemnly engaged to keep 
their promise to God, and that if they did so, God would do 
everything for their good. 

After this, Moses and Aaron, and Aaron’s sons, Nadab and 
Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, went up Mount Sinai, 
and the glory of God shone very brightly about them. And God 





child’s commentator. 


176 

commanded Moses to go up into the mountain, and he would give 
him the commandments written on stone. So Moses went up into 
the mount, and he was there forty days and forty nights. All 
this time he neither ate nor drank, but God kept him alive. If 
you ask how could he live without meat and drink, I reply, that 
God who keeps us all alive by means of food, was able to keep 
Moses alive without food ; he who breathed into man the breath of 
life, could find no difficulty in sustaining it in any way he pleased. 

God now showed Moses the pattern by which he was to make 
a Tabernacle in the wilderness, in which to worship him. This 
was to differ from the temple which was afterwards built in Ca- 
naan, as the tabernacle was a kind of very grand tent, to move 
about from place to place as the Israelites moved ; but the tem- 
ple was a fixed building, like any one of our churches. 

For the building of the Tabernacle, and the making of different 
articles to be used in it, the people were to give gold, and silver, 
and brass : and fine linen of blue, purple, and scarlet colours, and 
skins of animals, and wood ; and also oil, and spices for making 
incense ; and precious stones to be worn by the High Priest. 

The people brought their offerings in the most liberal manner ; 
and Moses soon got more money and things than he wanted, so that 
he was obliged to restrain them from giving him anything more. 

The value of the gold and silver only which was used for the 
work, was equal to nine hundred and twelve thousand, eight hun- 
dred and forty dollars of our money ! 

The Tabernacle was long and narrow. Its length was about 
fifty-five feet, its breadth ten, and its height ten, that is, about 
twice as high as a man. Its two sides, and one end, were made 
of a very durable wood, called Shittim-wood ; and they were 
overlaid with thin plates of gold, and fixed in solid sockets of sil- 
ver. At the top of the sides were rings of gold ; and bars of 
wood overlaid with gold, run through these rings at each side, 
and held the boards upright. At the entrance were five pillars 
of the same wood, ornamented with gold, and fixed in sockets of 
brass. A richly-worked curtain hung on these pillars. 

For its ceiling, there was a covering of fine linen, magnificently 
embroidered or worked in needle-work, with figures called 



child’s commentator. 


177 

cherubim, which it is not easy to explain. The colours of the 
work were blue, purple, and scarlet. On this ceiling was laid an 
outside covering, made of goats’ hair ; then upon that another 
covering of rams’ skins, dyed red ; and a fourth covering was 
outside to bear the weather ; this was made of some other skins. 

This Tabernacle was divided into two apartments. The partition 
was made by four pillars of the same wood as the rest, and overlaid 
with gold : and these stood in sockets of silver put in the ground, 
and on these pillars was hung a veil or curtain richly worked. 

One part, at the further end, was for the Most Holy Place , 
where the people could not enter, but only the priest ; and the 
part as large again as that, remained for the people. 

This Tabernacle stood in a large court, surrounded with pil- 
lars of brass, ornamented with silver ; and all around there hung 
upon them curtains of fine twined white linen yarn, with cords to 
l draw them up when necessary. 

Within this square stood an altar for offering burnt-offerings, 
^ or offerings in which the animals offered were burnt, and there was 
; also a laver for holding water, for the priests to wash themselves. 

' Having told you about this grand structure, I will now tell you 
about the rich and curious furniture which was put in it, as God 
commanded Moses. 

In the Holy Place there was an altar of incense, on which 
incense was burnt morning and evening ; which teaches us to pray 
to God morning and evening, and our prayers will, if sincere, and 
offered in the name of Christ, ascend up before God, as sweet 
incense or perfumed smoke ascends in the air. This altar was 
made of Shittim-wood, and completely covered with plates of gold. 
It had four rings of the same precious metal, into which poles were 
put to carry it from one place to another. There was also the 
table for the shew bread. It had its dishes, spoons, covers, and 
bowls, all made of pure gold. The bread was made every week ; 
and the priests had that which was taken away every Sabbath day, 
as a part of their reward for their services. Its quality was of the 
finest kind, being made of the best wheaten flour. There were 
twelve cakes, being the number of the tribes of Israel : these were 
piled up in two equal rows, and pure frankincense, a sweet per 



178 child’s commentator. 

fume, put upon each row. The meaning of this bread, and the 
things about it, seems to have been, that God by his presence 
dwelt there ; and though he need not eat as his creatures, yet 
these things were the signs of a dwelling-place, by which the Is- 
raelites were to understand he was amongst them. There was 
also the golden candlestick , which had seven branches for lights, 
and ornaments beautifully worked in the shape of flowers, and 
was worth about thirty thousand dollars of our money. 



The lamps of this were lighted every evening, and put out every 
morning. As there were no windows to the Tabernacle, this light 
was much needed. It was also a sign of that Holy Spirit , which 
now shines into the mind to give it divine light ; and when Christ 
sent his Spirit, that light, as a sign, was needed no more. So se- 
venty years after Christ, Jerusalem was conquered by the Romans; 
aud there is a large stone archway still at Rome, which was built 



CHILD'S commentator. 


179 

in memory of that conquest ; and, among the figures cut out on 
stone as taken from the Jews, is this candlestick, the table of 
shew bread, and some other things — so that the shape of the ta- 
ble and of the candlestick are well known to this day, and they 
are as the Lord commanded Moses. See how far back, and ex- 
actly, we can trace the correctness of the history of the Book of 
God, although it is so very old. 

There were three things also very remarkable in the Most Holy 
Place , where the high priests went. First, the ark . This was a 
chest of the usual wood, overlaid within and without with pure 
gold. It had also gold rings to put staves or poles through, to 
carry it. Inside this ark were tables, or inscriptions on stone, of 
the covenant with God ; a golden pot with some manna, to be kept 
in remembrance of God’s feeding Israel, when that food would be 
wanted no more ; and also Aaron’s wonderful rod. There was a 
covering to the ark made of pure gold, called the mercy-seat , where 
God showed by signs of his glory, that he would be merciful to his 
people ; and upon this were placed what were called the cherubim, 
or figures with wings. We do not exactly know what these meant. 

One more subject you will find in these chapters connected 
with the Temple, which was the robes of the priests. 

God commanded Moses — “Thou shalt make holy garments 
for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty. And thou shalt 
speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the 
spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s garments to con- 
secrate him, that he may minister to me in the priest’s office.” 

There was to be a breastplate , in which twelve precious stones 
were set in four rows ; they were very brilliant, and of different 
colours, and on these were written the names of the twelve tribes 
of Israel. Also, an ephod ; the common priests had it made plain 
of cloth, but the High Priest’s was richly worked. This was a 
garment to cover the back and front of the body only, to be fast- 
ened to the shoulders by two precious stones ; and a robe } or upper 
coat, which was under the ephod, that, perhaps, fastening it down ; 
round the hem at the bottom of this garment there were a number 
of gold bells, to ring when the priest went into the Holy Place. 
And under this robe, next to the body, like a shirt, was to be what 




180 child’s commentator. 


is called “ a broidered coat.” And further, on his head there was 
to be a mitre or turban, something like what is worn by the 
Turks instead of hats. A girdle was to go round the waist, the 
two ends of which, after it was tied, fell down in front ; and last- 
ly, there was a curious girdle to the ephod. 

Besides what we have named, there was what is called the 
Urim and Thummim , which was put into the breastplate, and by 
which the priest inquired for direction from Jehovah in all times 
of difficulty. No one can now exactly tell what the meaning of 
Urim and Thummim is. There was also a plate of gold on the 
front of the mitre, on which was written, “ Holiness to the Lord.” 

All these garments were designed to show the dignity of the 
High Priest’s office, and the purity which ought to belong to it. 

Here is a representation of the High Priest in his robes. 





CHILD’S COMMENTATOR. 


181 


The High Priest enjoyed great honours, and was considered 
next to the chief Governor of the Jews. No other person could 
enter the Holy of Holies, and all sacred things were under his 
entire direction. He offered the people’s sacrifices, blessed them, 
and interceded for them, and w T as a type or representation of Je- 
sus Christ, who is called, the great High Priest of our profes- 
sion, and who ever lives to plead for sinners.” 

Besides the High Priest, were many priests of less distinction, 
and they were all of the tribe of Levi, and of the family of Aaron. 

Many of these prepared and offered the sacrifices, they kept a 
fire constantly burning on the altar for burnt-offerings, and they 
kept the lamps alive in the golden candlestick. They examined 
the people as to diseases and practices which made them impure ; 
and, in time of war, they carried the holy ark with the people, 
and sounded the trumpets to encourage them in the battle. They 
also blessed the people, as did the High Priest. 

Others of the Levites waited on the priests, and assisted them 
in their duties ; they cleansed the sacred vessels, took care of the 
sacred place, sung psalms, played musical instruments, and did 
other services. These all were appointed cities to live in ; and 
the priests, besides what they got from the sacrifices in the tem- 
ple, had tithes, or a tenth of all the corn and fruit which grew 
every year, and of all the cattle that was added to the people’s 
stock. Their duties were very laborious and important, and it 
was right that, while they performed them faithfully, the people 
should take care of them, and for this God provided. 

A chief part of the priest’s labours consisted in presenting the 
offerings of the people to God. He did not want what they offered, 
for the cattle on a thousand hills are his ; but every beast and 
bird that was slain, taught them that they had sinned against 
God, and deserved to die as those creatures did ; and while they 
must be sure that God could not forgive their sins, because they 
killed a bullock, a calf, a goat, a kid, a sheep, or a bird ; those 
among them that truly served God, saw that all these things were 
signs, or “ shadows of good things to come,” and that they all 
pointed to the Messiah, — that is, Jesus Christ, — who was to be the 
great offering once for all , and then all these sacrifices were to be, 


182 


child’s commentator. 


as they now are, done away. So that, instead of going with sac- 
rifices to an altar, as the Jews did, we now go and pray to God 
to pardon our sins every day, for the sake of his dear Son Jesus 
Christ, who has loved us, and given himself for us, and whose pre- 
cious blood “ cleanseth from all sin.” That is, having died for 
sinners, God accepts of the merits of Jesus Christ’s death in be- 
half of all that truly trust in him, and he does away both the 
guilt and filthiness of their souls through sin, by J esus Christ. I 
hope, my dear reader, that you understand me ; for to under- 
stand this aright, and to believe it, and act upon it, is the grand 
point on which depends all your salvation, otherwise you must, 
as a guilty sinner against God, perish for ever. 

The offerings had different names, as they were offered on dif- 
ferent occasions. You read of many of them in the chapters on 
which I am making these remarks. 

There were burnt-offerings , which were all consumed by fire, to 
show us that nothing less could save us than the entire sacrifice 
of Christ for our sins. There were 'peace-offerings , part of which 
were offered, and the rest went to the priest ; these were signs of 
peace between God and the offerer. There were sin-offerings , for 
sins done without knowing they were sins at the time ; and these 
teach us that all sin is destructive, and must be pardoned through 
Christ. There were trespass-offerings , of which we particularly 
read in Leviticus ; these were offered if the person even doubted 
and supposed that he might, perhaps, have offended God Almighty. 
There were also meat-offerings , drink-offerings , and wave-offerings , 
so called from the priest waving or moving them backwards and 
forwards, — and a number of other offerings; all of which were to 
remind the people of Israel that they were sinners, and to make 
them humble before God, and grateful for his mercies. 

These explanations will give you a notion of the meaning of 
these things, when you happen to read of them in the Bible, or to 
hear them mentioned in the pulpit. 


MOUNT HOR — TOMB OF AARON 





BURNT OFFERINGS. 




185 



child’s commentator. 


THE THIRTY-SECOND CHAPTER OF EXODUS. 

The Golden Calf. 

“ And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down ; for thy peo. 
pie, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have cor 
rupted themselves : 

“ They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I com- 
manded them : they have made them a molten calf and have 
worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These 
be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the 
land of Egypt.” — Vers. 7, 8. 


f Moses having been with God in the Mount to receive instruc- 
tions for the good of Israel, during forty days and forty nights, 
<3* at length descended, bringing with him two tables or pages of 

7 stone, “ written with the finger of God,” and having the ten com- 

mandments upon them. 

I have before told you, that God has not bodily parts like us, 
for he is a Spirit ; but as we write with our fingers, so, to make 
us understand that this writing was God’s own doing, it is said to 
be written by his finger, as we should do it. 

With what delight did Moses bear this honourable and precious 
treasure, such as no nation beside could boast. But how greatly 
was he disappointed on his return ! 

The people, tired with waiting for Moses, and perhaps sup- 
posing that he had died somewhere in the Mount, wanted another 
leader, and forced Aaron to do as they pleased. And what do 
you think they fixed upon to lead them through the wilderness ? 
You can hardly fancy they could be so foolish, when I tell you. 
Why, a lump of gold, made into the shape of a calf! 

Here is the account we have of it in this chapter : — 

“ And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down 
out of the Mount, the people gathered themselves together unto 



186 


child’s commentator. 


f 


Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go he 
fore us ; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us out of 
the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. 

“ And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, 
which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your 
daughters, and bring them unto me. 

“ And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were 
in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. 

“ And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a 
graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf : and they said, 
These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the 
land of Egypt.” 

Was there ever conduct more stupid, more ungrateful, more 
provoking, and more wicked 1 

With the same readiness with which they had given their gold 
and silver to make the materials for the Tabernacle, they now 
gave their ornaments to make their fancied god ; and, though 
they knew that Jehovah alone had brought them out of Egypt, 
they talked about different gods having done it, of which this call 
was supposed to be a likeness. 

This inclination to idols they had got in Egypt, where the peo- 
ple made and worshipped such things. 

And how low, too, is poor Aaron fallen ; for after he had made 
the molten calf, cast in a mould , as children cast playthings of 
lead, “ When Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it ; and Aaron 
made proclamation, and said, To-morrow is a feast to the Lord. 

“ And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt 
offerings, and brought peace-offerings ; and the people sat down to 
eat and to drink, and rose up to play.” 

This was the manner of the heathen ; and it means that they 
ate and drank more than they ought, and that they did both fool- 
ishly and wickedly afterwards, as drunken people do. 

God, who sees all things, saw what the people were about ; and 
he sent Moses down to them, and threatened to destroy them. 
But Moses pleaded kindly for them, and so they were spared. 
Thus does Jesus plead for us poor sinners, or God would destroy 
us for doing what is wrong, not only once, but so often as we do. 



187 



child’s commentator. 


And now Moses descended from the Mount, and he heard the 
people rejoicing, and he saw the calf and the dancing ; and in his 
anger he threw down the tables of stone, of which they were so 
undeserving, and the laws which they had so shamefully broken, 
after they had promised faithfully to attend to them ; and so the 
tables were broken in pieces. 

“ And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in 
the fire, and ground it to powder, and strewed it upon the water, 
and made the children of Israel drink of it.” 

Gold powder will sink, but gold can be made into leaf, which 
is very light and very thin ; and if it were so made, and then 
broken, it would easily swim. And so Moses made these foolish 
people swallow their god. Nothing could better teach them how 
foolish it was to worship idols. 

Poor Aaron was quite ashamed, and he made a very weak ex- 
cuse for the part he had taken in this affair. He said the people 
had forced him into it, which no doubt they had, but he ought to 
have opposed them when they were doing what was so wicked. 
And then he said, that when he took their gold he cast it into the 
fire, and there came out the calf ; as if the calf would have come 
out if he had not made the mould. 

And now Moses saw that the people were naked before their 
enemies — an expression which means wretched, as a person is that 
can get no clothes to wear ; and that the anger of the Lord might 
be wholly turned away, he tried if there were any that disapproved 
of what had been done. And he stood in the gate of the camp, 
and cried, “ Who is on the Lord’s side 1 let him come unto me. 
And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. 

“ And he said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel,” 
— for God commanded this, — “ Put every man his sword by his 
side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, 
and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, 
and every man his neighbour. 

“ And the children of Levi did according to the word of 
Moses : and there fell of the people that day about three thou- 
sand men.” These were, probably, the chief transgressors, and so 
God spared the rest of the people and destroyed them. 



188 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


Moses now returned unto the Lord, and interceded for the peo- 
ple, and God heard him ; but on every new offence he did not 
forget this base act — “ And the Lord plagued his people, because 
they made the calf which Aaron made.” 


THE THIRTY-THIRD CHAPTER OF EXODUS. 

Israel again threatened with God's displeasure. 

“ For the Lord had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of 
Israel, Ye are a stiffnecked people : I will come up into the 
midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee : therefore now 
put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do 
unto thee.” — Yer. 5. 


Though God had spared Israel after the wicked act of idolatry 
which had been committed amongst them in worshipping the 
Golden Calf, yet he threatened to punish them, by no longer al- 
lowing the symbol of his presence to go with them, in the bright 
shining of the pillar of fire, and in the cloud, by which they had 
hitherto been guided. 

The people, however, humbled themselves at God’s command, 
and stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb, 
which was among the Jews one of their strongest signs of 
mourning. 

An<J now Moses pitched the Tabernacle “ afar off from the 
camp ; and it came to pass, as Moses entered into the Taberna- 
cle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the 
Tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses.” “ And the Lord 
spake unto Moses, face to face, as a man speaketh unto his 
friend.” “No man hath seen God at any time :” this therefore 
means, that God condescended very graciously and familiarly, 
to make his will known to Moses, as a man would make known 
his mind to a friend. 

Moses pleaded so earnestly with God for his presence, that God 
at length promised to grant it, for that alone could encourage 




child’s commentator. 189 


him in all his difficulties, and protect the people in all their 
dangers. 

Moses, encouraged by God’s kindness, now asked to see his 
glory, and God promised to show him some great token of his 
goodness, which is his glory. Concealed in the cleft or cave of a 
rock, God showed him as much of his glory as feeble human 
nature could bear, but in what way it is not possible to describe. 
When God speaks of covering him with his hand, and showing 
him his back parts, and not his face, we are not to understand 
that God has bodily parts like us, for “ God is a spirit,” and a 
spirit hath not flesh and bones, as we have : but it is a manner 
of speaking, to explain to the mind of a man things which he 
cannot well understand, but as they are made to meet his capacity. 
As the hand of a person, put before the eyes of another, may 
give a partial view of him, and as the back parts of a person 
only afford a small notion of that person, very different from what 
I we should have were we to see his face, so God showed himself 

, ^ unto Moses. As I have endeavoured to make this plain to you, 

: sj* I hope you understand me. 


THE THIRTY-FOURTH CHAPTER OF EXODUS. 

The Ten Commandments renewed . 

“And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first ; and Moses 
rose up early in the morning, and went up unto Mount Sinai, 
as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand the two 
tables of stone.” — Ver. 4. 

You remember that when Moses came down from the Mount, 
with the first tables, and saw the idolatry of the people in wor- 
shipping the Golden Calf, that he threw down the tables of stone, 
and brake them to pieces. God therefore now, in token of his 
still keeping Israel as his people, renewed his laws with them, and 
Moses was ordered to prepare some new tables, and to go again 
up into Mount Sinai. 






' 1 / 


i 


And there the Lord proclaimed or made known to him his name, 
and that he was, “ the Lord God, merciful and gracious.” What 
a lovely name ! Oh, let us love him who bears such a name ! 

And Moses “ bowed his head forward to the earth and wor- 
shipped.” And he pleaded again for Israel ; and God promised 
to drive their enemies out of the promised land of Canaan ; but 
he required, as a proof of their obedience to him, that they should 
destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves, 
where they worshipped, as the Druids used to do, long after, in 
our own country. 

And Moses was “ with the Lord forty days and forty nights ; 
he did neither eat bread nor drink water.” This was a long time 
to go without food ; but the power of God, which could feed 
Israel with manna from heaven, could as easily preserve Moses 
alive and well without food. 

And Moses wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, 
the ten commandments. In the first verse, you have probably 
observed that the Lord said unto Moses, “ Hew these two tables 
of stone like unto the first, and I will write upon these tables the 
words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest ;” but here 
it is said, “ Moses wrote upon the tables.” This is easily ex- 
plained : God wrote the original commandments on the tables 
deposited or placed in the ark, and Moses probably wrote a copy 
for the use of the people. 

And now Moses descended from the Mount, and having been 
favoured so greatly by God, “ the skin of his face shone before all 
the people, and they were afraid to come nigh him.” “ And till 
Moses had done speaking with them, he put a veil on his face :” 
and he “ spake unto the children of Israel that which he was 
commanded.” 







CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 

THE THIRTY-FIFTH CHAPTER OF EXODUS. 

Offering for the Tabernacle. 

u The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the Lord, 
every man and woman whose heart made them willing to bring 
for all manner of work, which the Lord had commanded to be 
made by the hand of Moses.” — Ver. 29. 


In the account already given of the Tabernacle , its Furniture, 
and Priests , we shall find many things which explain this chapter, 
and you will there see how much gold and silver were given for 
the use of the Tabernacle. The account in this chapter teaches 
us that we are to do all that we can to establish the religion of 
our divine Lord in the world. 


THE THIRTY-SIXTH, THIRTY-SEVENTH, THIRTY-EIGHTH, THIRTY-NINTH, 
AND FORTIETH CHAPTERS OF EXODUS. 

Bezaleel and Aholiab filled with wisdom to do the work of the 
Tabernacle . 

“Then wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise-hearted 
man, in whom the Lord put wisdom and understanding to 
know how to work all manner of work for the service of the 
sanctuary, according to all the Lord hath commanded.” — • 
Chap, xxx vi. 1. 


In the thirty-eighth chapter you read about Looking-glasses ! 
but glass was not then invented ; the people used what may be 
called mirrors , or polished brass , in which they could see their 
faces, and if you read the verse carefully, you will see that the 
things here called looking-glasses were made of brass. 


192 


child’s COJStMENTATOR. 


In the chapter on the Tabernacle, we told you of the value of 
the gold and silver only which were used in the Tabernacle; but 
the value of all the metals together was much more and amount 
ed to one million , two hundred and twenty thousand , six hundred 
and thirty-eight dollars and sixty-two cents and the weight of 
all the metals is reckoned to have been not less than fourteen 
tons, or thirty-one thousand three hundred and sixty pounds , — a 
prodigious weight ! 

In the thirty-ninth chapter, you read about an habergeon. This 
is a piece of armour to protect the body against the blow of a 
sword. It is made of iron rings, and is like half of a shirt, as it 
covers the neck and breast, and sometimes it has a cap added for 
the head. The Normans wore such armour when they invaded 
England under William the Conqueror, and some of it is still to 
be seen among the English cabinets. The robe of the High 
Priest’s Ephod had a hole to let the head through just like the 
hole in an Habergeon. 

And now we have come to the finishing of this Tabernacle. 
It was done as God had commanded, and he was pleased with it, 
and with the obedience of the people. It is a good thing to 
please God, for his favour is better than life. As a sign of his 
approbation, “ a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and 
the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. And Moses was not 
able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud 
abode thereon ; and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. 
And when the cloud was taken up from over the Tabernacle, the 
children of Israel went onward in all their journeys ; but if the 
cloud were not taken up, they journeyed not till the day it was 
taken up ; for the cloud of the Lord was upon the Tabernacle by 
day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of 
Israel, throughout all their journeys.” 



LEVITICUS, 

OR, 

BOOK OF THE LAWS FOR THE LEVITES. 


THE FIRST CHAPTER OF LEVITICUS. 


The Burnt-offering. 

(l And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt-offering ; 
and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.” 
— Ver. 4. 




You were before told, in the chapter on the Tabernacle, that 
the Levites were all of the tribe of Levi, one of the twelve tribes 
of Israel ; they were also of the family of Aaron, who descended 
from that tribe. These were all employed in various sacred ser- 
vices in the sanctuary, and their lives were wholly set apart to 
those services. 

For a long time the patriarchs were priests in their own fami- 
lies, and offered up sacrifices ; but by divine appointment the 
family of Aaron was now set apart to perform all sacred duties, 
as there was a large congregation, and a Tabernacle in which 
they were to assemble. 

This book treats of the duties which the Priests and Levites 


were to perform. 

You have been told (when we treated on the twenty-fourth and 
following chapters of Exodus) what is the meaning of a burnt- 
offering, and also why cattle and other creatures were offered in 


1 


'I 





sacrifice to God. In this chapter you may read the account of 
the burnt-offering. 

You will see that it was to be “ a male without blemish ;” that 
is, the best of the herd, for we ought always to serve God with the 
best of every thing. Especially should we try and give him the 
best of our days, before the evil days of age come, when we shall, 
if we live, be most likely feeble, and not so able to serve him. 
Then it is said, “ he shall offer it of his own voluntary will , at the 
door of the tabernacle of the congregation, before the Lord — to 
teach you and me, that if we do not serve God with all our hearts, 
and delight in his worship and service as much as, and more than, 
you delight in your most agreeable play, our service is not pleasing 
in the sight of God. Sol hope, that when you now offer your spi- 
ritual sacrifices of prayer and praise, — for these are now graciously 
accepted of God on account of Jesus Christ,- — I say, I hope that 
when you now offer prayer and praise, you do so willingly, and 
even with delight , for “ with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” 

It is also said in the fourth verse, “ And he,” that is, the person 
who offers the sacrifice, “ shall put his hand upon the head of the 
burnt-offering ; and it shall be accepted for him, to make atone- 
ment for him.” Now in doing this, it was to signify that he de- 
served to die as the poor beast was to die ; but that he begged of 
God to accept the life of the animal instead of his life. And God 
did so ; having respect to the death of his dearly beloved Son 
Jesus Christ, who is called “the Lamb slain from before the 
foundation of the world ;” because God the Father had appointed 
him to be the great atoning sacrifice for guilty men, who if they 
trusted in his merits should not perish, but have eternal life. 
And there is no doubt that as we look back by faith to the mer- 
its of his death, so good men then looked forward , through these 
oeremonies, to him who in a future time should come to redeem 
Israel. 

Now you may better understand the meaning of that verse of 
a hymn which is often sung in many congregations — 

“ My faith would lay her hand 
On that dear head of thine, 

While like a penitent I stand, 

And there confess my sin.” 




child’s commentator. 195 

_ But some persons were too poor to bring a bullock to be sac- 
rificed when they offered a burnt-offering, and then they were to 
bring a calf, a sheep, a goat, a kid, or even a lamb — a “ turtle 
dove,” or a “ young pigeon.” So that the poorest were not ne- 
glected by a merciful God, and were taught alike to look to the 
same way of salvation. The rich and the poor both alike need a 
Saviour, and Jesus Christ, who is “the Lamb of God,” is “rich 
in mercy” to all them that call upon him. 


THE SECOND CHAPTER OF LEVITICUS. 

The Meat-offering . 

“ And the priest shall take from the meat-offering a memorial 
thereof, and shall burn it upon the altar : it is an offering made 
by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord.” — Ver. 9. 

The meat-offering was of five sorts: — 1. Simple flour and 
meal. 2. Cakes and wafers ; that is, very thin bread. 3. Cakes 
baked in a pan. 4. Cakes baked on the frying-pan, or probably 
a gridiron. 5. Green ears of corn parched. 

In offering their meat-offerings, the Jews owned God as the 
giver of all the fruits of the earth ; for it “ is in him we live and 
move and have our being.” We can have no fruit to eat, till 
God first makes it grow. 

There was to be no leaven or yeast in this offering ; for that 
ferments and produces corruption, and our offerings to God must 
be pure. There was to be no honey ; for the heathens offered 
that to Bacchus, a pretended god, and God would not be served 
with the same as the heathen deities. There was to be salt with 
all the sacrifices ; for it seasons things and makes them savoury , 
teaching us again that our good things must be presented to God. 

All these things, and some more about which I shall tell you, 
are called typical — that is, they are meant to show to us other 
things of much more importance than they themselves ; just as a 
picture shows us the likeness of a real person, but you know it is 
not the person. 


196 


child’s commentator. 


THE THIRD, FOURTH, FIFTH, SIXTH, AND SEVENTH CHAPTERS OF 
LEVITICUS. 

The Sacrifices. 

“ This is the law of the burnt-offering, of the meat-offering, and of 
the sin-offering, and of the trespass-offering, and of the conse- 
crations, and of the sacrifice of the peace-offerings ; which the 
Lord commanded Moses, in Mount Sinai, in the day that he 
commanded the children of Israel to offer their oblations unto 
the Lord, in the Wilderness of Sinai.” — Chap. vii. 37, 38. 


Of the burnt-offering and meat-offering we have treated in the 
two preceding chapters ; and, as I told you before, the meaning 
of all these offerings is explained, where we have considered the 
twenty-fourth and following chapters of the book of Exodus. 

As the sacrifices very much resembled each other, all having 
respect to the great sacrifice of Christ, we need not explain them 
any more, separately. Only it will be well for you to remember, 
that when we read about the killing of the animals, and the 
sprinkling of blood upon the altars, and the offering of fruits, and 
burning of different parts, and the giving of other parts to the 
priests, and a number of other particulars ; though at first sight 
they may not seem to be very interesting, yet they are very much 
so, when we can find out their meaning ; and this is not left to 
our fancies, but we may know it by looking at other parts of the 
Bible. For instance, we read in the ninth chapter of the Epistle 
to the Hebrews, “ For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the 
ashes of an heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the puri- 
fying of the flesh how much more shall the blood of Christ, who 
through the eternal Spirit, offered himself without spot to God, 
purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God 1” 
— in other words, if the blood of the animals offered by the priests 
under the law given by Moses, had so much virtue, that it removed 
uncleanness and guilt, or sin and guilt before God, he haring 



promised it should do so because he had commanded it; then how 
much more shall the precious virtue of the blood of Jesus Christ, 
who died to save sinners, and through the power of his spirit 
sustained all our load of guilt, which no mere human creature 
could have borne ; — how much more shall the virtue of his sacri- 
fice take away all guilt from the conscience arising from sinful 
deeds, so that you may with pleasure serve the living God ! 

Again, we read in the same chapter, that “ Christ was once 
offered to bear the sins of many.” For other sacrifices were offered 
from time to time , as offences occurred, and there were even daily 
sacrifices ; but when Christ died on Calvary, he died once for all , 
and all sacrifices then ceased. For, it is worthy of your notice, 
that soon after Christ had died on Calvary, the Jewish nation was, 
for their hardness of heart against God, destroyed and scattered 
abroad in all countries, as they are to this day. The Romans, then 
a great power, were God’s instruments to effect this ; and then 
their temple was destroyed, in which their sacrifices were offered, 
and the tribes were mixed all in confusion ; so that the tribe of 
Levi could soon no longer be known, to offer sacrifices. But 
Christ had made them needless : they had all along been as guides 
to lead to him ; and now he was slain, those who would be saved, 
must by faith trust on the benefits of his death, “ who himself bare 
our sins in his own body on the tree.” 

Think what a labour and expense all these sacrifices must have 
been ; and what a burden of ceremonies was taken away, when the 
Saviour closed, as it were, the book of the Law, and opened to us 
that of the everlasting Gospel, which says only, “ Believe on the 
Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” 

You will find a number of seemingly trifling instructions given 
to the priests in performing their duties and offering the sacrifices, 
and perhaps some may be difficult to understand ; but you must 
never forget that they teach us this one great truth, — they point, 
as it were, to Jesus Christ, and say, “ Behold the Lamb of God, 
that taketh away the sin of the world.” 

We must make another remark, and that is, that the priests 
were often to eat part of the sacrifices ; because, as they gave their 
time to these labours, in slaying the sacrifices for the benefit of the 
8 



people, they were to live by their labours as well as others, — 
teaching us that the ministers who preach the Gospel to us, ought 
to receive proper support. 

Again, the law in the sixth chapter, verses one to seven, must 
not be passed over without our notice. I would have you read it. 
It is a law against dishonesty, which may not exactly come under 
the common name of stealing , but which God showed that he 
noticed, and that it was sinful. If a man kept as his own, 
anything that was only lent to him, or left with him by his 
neighbour; or, if he found anything belonging to another, and 
called it his own, without trying to find out who was the owner ; 
he was to restore the thing and add to it a fifth part more value ; — 
so that had he stolen anything worth five shillings, he must have 
given back six ; and he was to make a trespass offering to the 
Lord, and the priest was to make an atonement for him. So you 
1 see how every sin, how little soever it may seem to us, exposes us 
to the displeasure of Almighty God ; and that if it were not that 
, there has been a great sacrifice offered for sin, and that we may 

1 humbly confess our sin, and repent before God, and look to him 

I for pardon through Jesus Christ, we should be miserable, and 
without the favour of God for ever. 

There are some customs not yet noticed, which must also be 
explained before we proceed. In the fourth chapter we read that 
the bullock offered in sacrifice was to be burnt without the camp. 
The Israelites, you know, lived for a long time in tents in the 
wilderness, and when these tents were all pitched together, they 
formed what is called a camp — looking like a number of little 
cottages standing in rows. The carrying of the bullocks outside 
the camp to be burnt, was intended to signify that sin is a very 
offensive thing. The priest had committed a sin, he had laid his 
hand on the head of the animal and confessed it; the sin was thus 
considered as laid on the beast, and the bullock was made vile. 
It also expressed that this sin was now taken away and the camp 
was purified from it. Now, the writer to the Hebrews says, “ It 
is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away 
sins.” No ; they only did this as a type or picture of what Christ 
afterwards did in reality. So in the Hebrews this custom is thus 










CEDARS OF LEBANON. 














201 



! 


! 



child’s commentator. 

explained : — “ For the bodies of those beasts whose blood is 
brought into the sanctuary by the high-priest, for sin, are burned 
without the camp. Therefore, Jesus also, that he might sanctify 
the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.” When 
the Jews dwelt in houses, and worshipped in the Temple at Jeru- 
salem, these bodies were carried outside the gates of the city ; 
and when Christ, the great sacrifice, was offered up, it was on 
Mount Calvary , which was outside the gates of that city. This will 
help further to show you the meaning of these sacrifices, and how 
nearly the type, or thing representing, was like the antitype , or 
thing which had been represented. 

You also read in many parts, as in the fifth chapter, of unclean 
things , and their uncleanness. There were many things which 
made a person unclean — that is, not fit to worship with the rest, 
nor to dwell among them, being considered as impure. It was 
then considered, for instance, that touching a dead body, and 
other things prohibited, made a person unclean. And when this 
was the case, he was to wash his clothes and his body in clean 
water, and to wait some hours before he could be called clean. 
Such things are not now necessary ; but they were then typical, 
and were designed to show that God’s people are to hate and avoid 
sin of every kind as much as possible, and to be a holy people. 


THE EIGHTH AND NINTH CHAPTERS OF LEVITICUS. 


Consecration and Duties of the Priests. 

“ And Moses took of the anointing oil, and of the blood which 
was upon the altar, and sprinkled it upon Aaron, and upon his 
garments, and upon his sons, and upon his sons’ garments 
with him ; and sanctified Aaron, and his garments, and his 
sons, and his sons’ garments with him.” — Chap, viii: 30. 


Moses, in the way in which he was commanded, consecrated, 
or set apart, Aaron and his sons to be priests, and to offer up the 
sacrifices of the people of Israel. 



202 



child's commentator. 



You have been told something about these, in what has been 
said on the twenty fourth and following chapters of Exodus. 

There is one thing which ought to be noticed in this place, that 
you may understand its meaning, because it appears at first to be 
a very odd kind of ceremony. After the ram of consecration 
was slain, “ Moses took of the blood of it, and put it upon the 
tip of Aaron’s right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, 
and upon the great toe of his right foot and then he did the 
same also to Aaron’s sons. This is generally supposed to mean, 
that the priest’s ears should be holy, and that his hands should 
be employed in holy work, and his feet should tread in holy 
ways ; and as the blood was to touch each part, that the blood ot 
the atonement, shed on Calvary, as it were, touching out hearts 
by believing in it, alone can render our services acceptable and 
pure in the sight of God. Every little thing here commanded 
had, without doubt, some interesting meaning. 


THE TENTH CHAPTER OF LEVITICUS. 

Awful Judgment on Nadab and Abihu. 


1 


“ And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them 
his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and 
offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them 
not. And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured 
them, and they died before the Lord.” — Vers. 1, 2. 


See here the consequences of not minding the commands of 
God. Nadab and Abihu had just been appointed priests, and it 
was a part of their duty to burn incense, as an emblem or sign 
of prager , which, if offered aright, ascends to heaven, and espe- 
cially of the merits of Jesus Christ, which always plead in heaven 
for them that pray for blessings on his account. 



203 



child’s commentator. 

But Nadab and Abihu disobeyed the command of God ; for 
they not only took the incense of their own accord, when he 
“ commanded them not,” but they presumptuously disregarded 
what God had said about burning inoense on the altar of incense, 
as it is recorded in the ninth verse of the thirtieth chapter of 
Exodus — “ Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon.” Moses had 
not given them any of the incense which he had ordered to be 
made according to the Divine direction, so that they must have 
used some common kind of incense ; besides this, instead of tak- 
ing sacred fire from the altar, which had been kindled with fire 
from heaven, they took strange fire, — probably from that with 
which the flesh of the peace-offering was boiled, as Moses com- 
manded Aaron and his sons, as mentioned in the eighth chapter 
and the thirty-first verse. . 

The priests were also commanded to burn incense, one at a time ; 

' but here both went together to do it. This seems a severe punish- 

( ment for such an offence ; but it was very wicked to disobey God ; 

i and, by taking common fire, they profaned God’s sacred altar. It 
had also been threatened in the Law', that those who disobeyed the 
commands of God, should be cut off from the people. And now 
God shows that what he spoke was truth. In an instant Aaron’s 
two sons fell dead : God struck them with a blast of lightning ; 
for as neither their bodies nor coats were burnt, and yet they 
were suddenly dead, the manner of their death show's how it was 
done. If, indeed, any person is struck dead by lightning in a 
common way, we are not to consider that as any judgment of the 
Almighty — it is only one way in which he is pleased to take him 
out of this world ; but where a sinner is cut off in the act of aw r - 
fully offending God, and especially as in this case, where God had 
threatened such a destruction to the offender, w'e are right in view- 
ing it as a solemn warning to hardened sinners ; and it teaches us 
that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. 

And now their worthless bodies were carried out of the camp, 
looked upon, no doubt, with wonder by the affrighted people ; 
and lest they should seem to favour their sin in any way, none 
of their kindred were allowed to mourn for them. O ! “ who is 
able to stand against this holy Lord God ?” 



child’s commentator. 


204 

My young reader, if you are at any time tempted to break 
God Almighty’s commands, to take his name in vain, to neglect 
his Sabbath day, to lie or to steal, or to rebel against the good 
advice and orders of a good father or mother ; though, indeed, 
you may not be struck dead, yet remember you are sinning 
against that Almighty Being, who shall bring “ every work into 
judgment” when you leave this world ; and think on the fearful 
end of Nadab and Abihu. 


THE ELEVENTH CHAPTER OF LEVITICUS. 

Laws respecting the Food of the Israelites. 

“ This is the law of the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every liv- 
ing creature that moveth in the waters, and of every creature 
that creepeth upon the earth : to make a difference between 
the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be 
eaten and the beast that may not be eaten.” — Vers. 46, 47. 


The Israelites were God’s peculiar people, and he would there- 
fore distinguish them as much as possible from all others. 
Among other things, he regulated their food, and told them what 
they were to eat, and what they were not to eat. 

You ask, “ What reason can be given for this law ?” And the 
answer must be that which the good Matthew Henry gives, who 
wrote a work on the Bible. He says, “ It is reason enough that 
God would have it so : his will, as it is law sufficient, so it is rea- 
son sufficient ; for his will is his wisdom. He saw good thus to try 
and exercise the obedience of his people, not only in the solemni- 
ties of his altar, but in matters of daily occurrence at their own 
table, that there they might remember they were under authority. 
Thus God had tried the obedience of man in innocency, by for- 
bidding him to eat of one particular tree.” He, however, mentions 
some reasons which are also very good ones : “ Most of the meats 




child’s commentator. 205 


forbidden as unclean are such as were really unwholesome , and 
not fit to be eaten ; and those of them that we think wholesome 
enough, and use accordingly, as the coney (a kind of rabbit), the 
hare, and the swine, perhaps in those countries, and to their bo- 
dies, might be hurtful : and then, God in this law did by them but 
as a wise and loving father does by his children, whom he re- 
strains from eating that which he knows will make them sick. God 
would, also, thus teach his people to distinguish themselves from 
other people, not only in their religious worship, but in the com- 
mon actions of life.” In this way they were types, or pictures, 
to show what all good people should be in future ages — a people 
whose lives and customs should differ from those of the rest of 
the world. “ The learned observe further, that most of the crea- 
tures which by this law were to be abominated as unclean , were 
a such as were held in mighty veneration among the heathen, not 
/ so much for food as for divination, (or fortune-telling,) and sacri- 

11 fice to their gods ; and therefore those are here mentioned as wn- I 

s; clean and an abomination ;” as, for instance, the nasty-feeding ra- 
7 ven, and the owl, “ which yet they would not be in any tempta- 
tion to eat, that they might keep up a religious loathing” of that 
which the Gentiles (or heathen) had a superstitious value for. 






206 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


Many things forbidden to the Israelites, which are not hurtful, 
we now eat, as pigs, and hares, and rabbits ; for we are not re* 
stricted as the Jews were ; and the Gospel teaches us that “ every 
creature of God is good,” and we are “ to call nothing common 
or unclean.” Even the touch of any of these animals after they 
were dead, defiled ; so that the person that touched them was 
obliged to wash his clothes, and be for awhile unclean, and keep 
company with no one. And the very things which they touched 
must be washed as unclean ; and if they were made of earthen- 
ware, they were to be broken. By these things they were taught 
to avoid everything that could pollute them. And they show us, 
as in a glass or picture, how much God hates sin, which is to the 
soul much more defiling than these things could be to the body, 
and highly offensive to his holy nature. 

Before we finish this chapter, let us see what further wants 
explanation. Perhaps you do not know what dividing the hoof \ 
or being cloven- footed, means. A cloven foot is a foot like an ox, 
where the hoof is divided into two toes. All oxen are, therefore, 
cloven-footed. Again ; what is chewing the cud ? You must know 
that an ox, when he bites the grass, swallows it down without 
chewing it, and so he does not stop, but bites away for a long 
time ; and if you go into the stall, or watch him standing upright 
in the field or under the tree, you will generally see his mouth in 
motion ; he is then chewing the cud. The grass has been thrown 
up out of a stomach where it first went when the ox nibbled it : 
and, in the shape of small balls, it is chewed again in the mouth, 
and then it goes into a second stomach in which are cells like a 
honeycomb. You may have seen this stomach, as it appears in 
tripe : here the food is ground again, and then it goes into a third 
stomach, and last of all into a fourth stomach, where it is com- 
pletely digested, and its nourishing parts, becoming a liquid, pass 
into the veins and blood, to strengthen and keep alive the body. 
All this is very curious, and it is a small part of the wonderful 
works of God. 

Among the creatures named, perhaps you do not know what is 
meant by the ossifrage and the osprag ; they are both eagles of 
a different kind. I scarcely need explain to you what is an eagle : 







child’s commentator. 207 

you must have often heard that it is a large and ravenous bird, 
with a strong crooked beak, and a very keen eye, by which it 
sees its prey at a great height, and then darts down upon it with 
wonderful swiftness ; and that it will often seize upon the poor 
little lamb, and kill it, and then suck its blood. 

The vulture , and the kite , and the raven, are all birds of prey — 
that is, they kill other creatures and eat them. They all feed on 
dead carcases in the most putrid or rotten state, and are very use- 
ful, in hot countries, to eat up any corrupted bodies they may find, 
and so prevent them from tainting the air and bringing on diseases ; 
but it is very plain that they must be exceedingly unfit to eat. 

The night-hawk is by some called the Oriental, or Eastern owl. 
It is a very cruel bird ; and in Syria, if night-hawks find the win- 
dows open in the evening, they will even fly into houses, and kill 
poor little infants, unless they are very carefully watched. 

The cormorant is a sea-fowl which feeds on fish. 

The pelican is a very curious bird, and has a large pouch, or 
bag, under its bill, out of which it feeds its young. 

The stork is a bird that sets us a noble pattern in attending on 
and feeding its parents when they are grown old and cannot help 
themselves ; but as it destroyed and ate serpents, Moses forbade 
the Israelites to eat it. 





!! 

I 


The bat is an animal that is partly beast and bird ; having four 
legs like the one, and a kind of wings like the other, only they 
are a thin skin instead of feathers. Its body is something like 
that of a mouse. It flies about in the evening, and mostly feeds 
on insects. In some parts of the world, bats are very large, and 
will fall upon animals and men when asleep, and kill them by 
sucking their blood. 

The locust is a winged insect, and is very much like the grass- 
hopper. Locusts are still eaten in some parts of India, where 
they are parched in earthen pans, when they appear like boiled 
shrimps. These the Jews might eat. 

The beetle never has been eaten by man in any country, and 
there is reason to believe that a kind of locust is intended. This 
is a trifling mistake, made by the English translators, when they 
turned the Hebrew Bible into English, at a time when the history 
of some of these insects was not so well known as it is at present. 

The weasel , here forbidden to 
be eaten, is also thought to be a 
mistake ; and that the creature 
meant is what we call the mo/e, 
a little animal that lives under 
ground, and raises what we call 
mole-hills in the fields. 

The chameleon is a kind of 
lizard. The lizard has a short 
body resembling that of a snake, 
yet it has legs, and is very diffe- 
rent in its nature; for the cha- 
meleon destroys snakes. 

After this description, you will 
better see the reason why God 
prohibited the Jews from eating some animals, while he allowed 
them to eat others. 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 





CHILD 8 COMMENTATOR. 


THE THIRTEENTH AND FOURTEENTH CHAPTER8 OF LEVITICUS. 

The Laws on the Leprosy. 

M This is the law for all manner of plague of leprosy, and scallj 
arid for the leprosy of a garment, and of a house, and for a ri- 
sing, and for a scab, and for a bright spot : to teach when it is 
unclean, and when it is clean : this is the law of leprosy.” — 
Chap. xiv. 54 — 57. 

We often read in Scripture about lepers. 

The leprosy is a very corrupt disorder. There were three 
sorts of it ; one in men , another in clothes , and another in houses. 

In men this disorder affects the skin, and produces white scurf 
and scabs, and corrupts the whole mass of blood. It is dangerous 
to touch a leper, for the disorder is very infectious. Travellers 
in the East have seen people afflicted with it ; and they say that 
it defiles all the skin, and swells all the joints of the body, parti- 
cularly the wrists and the ankles, so that the sufferer is quite an 
ugly object. The poor who have this disorder, beg with buck- . 
ets to receive the alms ; perhaps, because they will not touch the 
money, which people would then be afraid of taking. 

The leper, under the law, was commanded to show himself to 
the priest* and Moses being divinely taught to point out the signs 
of a dangerous leprosy, gave proper directions for examining him. 
If the disorder was of a bad kind, the leper was to be separated 
from society; he was to tear his clothes, as the Jews did in ex- 
treme grief ; he was to throw off his turban, and have his head 
bare ; and to put a covering upon his upper lip, his jaws being 
tied up with a linen cloth, as the dead were bound up ; and in ad- 
dition to these marks, by which he might be known and avoided, 
he was to cry, “ Unclean, unclean and he was to dwell alone, 
and at a distance from the camp. 

When a leper was cured, there were several ceremonies to be 
gone through, which are mentioned in the fourteenth chapter. 


210 


child’s commentator. 


These ceremonies cannot now be exactly explained ; but they 
meant that he was now pure, and might return to enjoy all the 
privileges of the people. 

The leprosy in clothes seemed to have been something like 
moths in garments ; and it is supposed that it was caused by a 
kind of insect getting into them. 

The leprosy in houses certainly resembled what builders call 
the dry-rot , which now gets into houses, beginning at the founda- 
tion, and causing all the timbers soon to rot, even to the top, if 
not speedily cured. It is thought that a sort of worms produced 
this evil. In some cases this leprosy was very obstinate, and the 
house was in consequence entirely pulled down. 

Now, my dear young reader, you may wonder why there is so 
much about this leprosy mentioned here ; but I have told you, 
that all things under the law were shadows or representations of 
spiritual things, or things relating to the soul, and which still ex- 
ist. Do you know that you have got this dangerous leprosy ? I 
will tell you what it is ; — Sin : for “ all have sinned, and come 
short of the glory of God.” Sin defiles the soul before God, as 
the leprosy defiles the body. Sin is infectious , and one sinner 
destroys much good. If our souls have been purified by faith in 
Jesus Christ, in the virtues of whose blood the spiritual leper 
finds all the benefits that the leper did from the ceremony of the 
dead and the living bird, then are we especially to mind the ad- 
vice of Solomon : “ My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou 
not and to study to avoid all sin, for whoever lives in it is a 
leper, and unholy in the sight of God. 

O, let us humble ourselves before God ; confess all our nume- 
rous faults ; come to him to cure us ; and trust in the blood, or in 
other words, the merits of Jesus Christ, to cleanse us from all sin ; 
for his merits were shown when he died on the cross, that we might 
not die for ever, and when he rose from the grave that we might 
live for ever, if we believe in him. Tor this reason, perhaps , a 
bird was killed at the ceremony of the purification of the leper, to 
show tfiat Christ died for our sins ; and another bird was let loose, 
after being dipped in the blood of the slain bird, to show forth the 
resurrection of our Saviour, in consequence of having done away 


child’s COMMENTATOR. 211 

our guilt, by his death in our stead, who otherwise deserved death. 
I have, however, said perhaps ; for though all these truths are in 
some way to be found in the ceremonies of the law, which in the 
New Testament are called shadow's of things to come, and there- 
fore representing the Gospel as a shadow does the body, yet we 
must not fancy things in reading God’s word, but content our- 
selves with what he has been so condescending as to teach us, in 
a way which, by prayer and humble dependence upon the teach- 
ing of God Almighty, we may all understand. 

The leprous house may, in the same way, show us that, as 
there is sin in our mortal body, which is the house of the soul, 
and which sin exposes us to pain, decay, and death ; so it is only 
by the pulling down of the body, or house, that we can entirely 
get rid of sin ; and then, when the believer’s body is turned to 
dust, God, who first made it, shall make it again, and change this 
vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto the glorious body 
of the Redeemer. 

Thus, my dear young reader, you may be able to see how it 
is that there is so much said in Scripture about the leper, which 
there would not have been, if it had not taught something which 
particularly concerns you and me, who are as poor lepers in the 
sight of God, by the defilement of sin ; but who may be purified 
and made fit for heaven, through faith in the death of Christ, our 
great sacrifice — our only Saviour. 

Now you will perhaps better understand that Psalm when you 
hear it sung : — 

“ Lord, I am vile, conceived in sin, 

And born unholy and unclean ; 

Sprung from the man,* whose guilty fall 
Corrupts the race, and taints us all. 

“ Soon as we draw our infant breath, 

The seeds of sin grow up for death ; 

Thy law demands a perfect heart, 

But we’re defil’d in every part. 


* That is. Adam . 


212 


child’s commentator. 


“ Great God, create my heart anew, 

And form my spirit pure and true ; 

O make me wise betimes, to spy 
My danger and my remedy. 

“ Behold I fall before thy face ; 

My only refuge is thy grace : 

No outward forms can make me clean ; 
The leprosy lies deep within. 

“ No bleeding bird, nor bleeding beast, 

Nor hyssop-branch, nor sprinkling priest, 
Nor running brook, nor flood, nor sea, 
Can wash the dismal stain away. 

H Jesus, my God, thy blood alone 
Hath power sufficient to atone ; 

Thy blood can make me white as snow ; 
No Jewish types could cleanse me so.” 


THE SIXTEENTH CHAPTER OF LEVITICUS. 

The Scape- Goat. 

1 And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live 
goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of 
Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them 
upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the 
hand of a fit man into the wilderness : and the goat shall bear 
upon him all their iniquities, unto a land not inhabited : and 
he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.” — Vers. 21, 22. 


We need not now read the fifteenth chapter. It was of im- 
portance to the Jews, but is not so necessary to us, as it treats only 
on issues and different kinds of uncleanness. W e learn, however, 
from all these ceremonial laws, that God hates impurity ; for all 


child's commentator. 


213 


impurity of the body , for which atonement was made by shedding 
the blood of beasts , was meant to show to us that God hates impu- 
rity of soul , and that it can only be taken away by the blood oj 
Jesus Christ — the great sacrifice for sin. 

The grand subject of the sixteenth chapter, to which your atten- 
tion is called, is the great day of atonement , on which the scape- 
goat was made to bear the sins of the people. The numerous 
other sacrifices were for particular persons, and on occasions which 
respected objects of a more limited nature, but on this occasion, 
an atonement was made for the whole Israelitish nation : this hap- 
pened once a year : the whole service of the day was performed 
by the high-priest, who was to be dressed, not in his splendid 
robes, but in a humble dress of linen : he was to bring, first a sin- 
offering and a burnt-offering for himself ; to offer first his sin-of- 
fering, and then to go within the vail with some of the blood of 
his sin-offering, burn incense, and sprinkle the blood before the 
mercy-seat. Two goats were to be provided for the people ; lots 
were then to be cast, to know which goat to offer : this was done 
by putting two pieces of wood, stone, or metal, into a pot, on one 
of which was written, “ for the scape-goat the goats then stood 
on the priest’s right and left hand, and as he took out the papers 
with both hands, the one to whose lot that name fell, was to be 
set free. The one goat was then slain as a sin-offering for the 
people ; and the blood of it, and of the other sin-offering, was 
sprinkled upon the altar. The other was to be the scape-goat, 
or the goat which was allowed to escape : the high-priest laid his 
hands on his head, and then confessed the sins of Israel ; and he 
was to bear away these sins into the wilderness, to which he w r as 
led, and allowed to go free. Burnt-offerings and sin-offerings 
were then added : the fat of the sin-offering was burnt on the al- 
tar, and the flesh without the camp. The people rested from la- 
bour on that day, and they mourned their sins. This was the 
practice on the day of atonement. 

You will wonder how the scape-goat could bear away the sins 
of the people ; but, my dear young reader, this scape-goat was to 
typify or exhibit, as in a picture, the Great Saviour of sinners, 
Jesus Christ, of whom the sacrifices were constant representations. 


214 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


We are pardoned through the death of Christ, who “ died for oui 
sins,” if we believe on him ; and we shall be made inheritors of the 
kingdom of heaven, and enjoy immortal life, — that is, a life of joy 
that can never end, — through the resurrection of Christ. Now, 
both these truths were taught here as in a shadow. But one goat 
could not teach both ; for the goat that died could not live again. 
Therefore there were two goats appointed to be used : one was 
slain , as I have told you, to set forth the death of Christ, the great 
atonement or reconciler between God and man ; and the other was 
let free into the wilderness, bearing the people’s sins, to show that 
all those were to be forgotten through him, and lost like the goat 
in the wilderness, and that through his life we should not die. 


THE TWENTY-THIRD AND TWENTY-FOURTH CHAPTERS OF LEVITICUS. 

The Blasphemer stoned. 

“ And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall surely 
be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone 
him : as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when 
he blasphemeth the name of the Lord, shall be put to death.” 
— Chap. xxiv. 16 . 


We purposely omit several chapters which were commands to 
the Israelites not to do a number of bad things practised by the 
heathen, and of which it is painful to read. They teach us, how- 
ever, to pity those who are given up to wicked practices, and to 
do all in our power to try and bring the poor heathen, who know 
no better, to the knowledge of that divine Saviour whom they so 
greatly need. There are also some laws respecting the priests 
and the sacrifices, which we have already in some way noticed. 

The twenty -third chapter also treats about several feasts which 
we have noticed, except that it mentions the feast of trumpets . 
About this feast no explanation is given in Scripture, and there- 
fore we cannot explain it. It is supposed, however, to have been 


215 



child's commentator. 

a feast kept on the New Year’s Day, to express gratitude to God 
for his goodness during the past year, and thankfulness for seeing 
the new one. 

In the twenty-fourth chapter you will find several laws for 
punishing offenders, so that what harm soever any one did to an- 
other, the same was to be done to him. So you read of “ an eye 
for an eye,” and “ a tooth for a tooth that is, if a man knocked 
out the eye of another, he was to have his eye knocked out ; or if 
he knocked out a tooth, he was to lose a tooth for so doing. This 
was always regulated by the magistrate, and not by the person 
who was hurt ; and it is thought that a sum of money, reckoned 
in some degree according to the greatness of the injury, was often 
appointed to be given to the injured person, instead of injuring 
him who did the harm. Our Saviour has set aside this law ; and 
in the Gospel of St. Matthew, the fifth chapter and thirty-eighth 
t) verse, he teaches us that it is better to forgive, as those who hope 

I to be forgiven ; not but that there are aggravated offences of this 

1 3 kind, where, not to punish the offender, would be to leave him to 

7 , do the same thing to others, and thus do harm by our forgive- 

ness. But while the law of Moses was severe, the law of Jesus 
Christ was full of mercy. 

I That which particularly deserves notice in this chapter, is the 
death of the blasphemer. 

To blaspheme is to take God’s name in vain, that is, to use it 
lightly or without reverence ; and you know that a commandment 
was given, which said, “The Lord will not hold him guiltless that 
taketh his name in vain.” As yet, however, it was not exactly 
known what was to be done to the blasphemer, and so Moses in- 
quired of the Lord, who, by some sign, intimated that he should 
be put to death. 

The Jews, among all their crimes, were yet afraid to take God’s 
name in vain, so that none of them were punished for this shock- 
ing sin. But this was the son of a Jewish woman, who had mar- 
ried an Egyptian, and no doubt he had learnt this wicked habit 
from his father. It happened that he quarrelled with an Israel- 
ite ; and as they strove together, he, being in a passion, used the 
wicked words which cost him his life. He was taken out of the 



* 216 


CHILD'S COMMENTATOR. 


camp; the people that heard him curse put their hands on his 
head, in token that they were free from his crime, and that he 
was to bear his own guilt ; and to show that all the congregation 
approved of the justice of his sentence, they became the execu- 
tioners, and stoned him to death. 

We have many blasphemers in our country, but we have no 
law to put them to death : in some States they are fined a few 
dollars; but even this punishment is seldom inflicted upon them. 
But God is long-suffering, and his Gospel leaves the sinner time 
to repent; however, if the swearer do not repent, and forsake his 
wicked ways, for these things God will bring him into judgment. 


I 


THE TWENTY-FIFTH CHAPTER OF LEVITICUS. 

The Tear of Jubilee . 

“ And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty 
throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall 
be a jubilee unto you ; and ye shall return every man unto 
his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.” 
Ver. 10. 


The Jews, besides keeping every seventh day as a day of rest, 
were also commanded to keep every seventh year, called on that 
account the Sabbatical Year . This was an additional remem- 
brancer of the Sabbath day. In that year, therefore, they nei- 
ther sowed nor reaped, but only gathered anything the ground 
produced of its own accord, just as they wanted it ; leaving the 
rest for the poor, for servants, for strangers, and cattle. Thus 
they were taught compassion towards servants and cattle, and 
benevolence to the poor ; thus they were instructed to depend 
upon God’s providence for their support, who could, if they obey- 
ed his commands, provide for them without labour, or bless their 
labour ; and thus they were reminded of a better rest, which this 
was to signify — a never-ending sabbath in heaven. 





child’s commentator. 


217 


There was another remarkable privilege enjoyed by the Jews, 
and that was the Year of Jubilee. 

This was every fiftieth year. After spending “seven times 
seven years,” which make forty -nine, the Jews were to keep the 
fiftieth year, or some think, the last year of the forty-nine. 

In this year there was neither sowing nor reaping ; but the 
earth brought forth fruit of itself. All estates which had been 
bought were restored to their first owners, so that no family could 
be finally made poor by a father’s selling the property for ever. 
Hebrew slaves, with their wives and children, were set free ; and 
even all foreign slaves enjoyed the right of the jubilee. The first 
nine days were spent in joyful feasting ; on the tenth, which hap- 
pened always to be the great day of the annual atonement, the 
trumpets were sounded, and at that moment the slaves were de- 
clared free, and the lands returned to their ancient owners. 
Houses and other buildings in walled towns only, did not return 
to the old proprietor in the jubilee. 

By this wise law, the rich could not oppress the poor, by get- 
ting possessed of all the property in the country ; and debts 
could not last always, for the jubilee made them void ; and the 
slave had a hope of a final release. 

In making purchases, therefore, this law was always remem- 
bered, and a proportionable value was given as the year of jubilee 
drew nigh. 

But this year had a spiritual signification. It was a type or 
representation of the redemption of sinners, by Christ, from the 
slavery of sin and Satan, and the restoring of man, who by trans- 
gression has lost his title to eternal blessedness, so that he be- 
comes the heir of heaven — that “ inheritance which is incorrupti- 
ble, undefiled, and that fadeth not away.” 

In many religious assemblies they often sing a hymn which 
refers to this Jewish institution, and which partly explains its 
meaning ; it is too long to be inserted here, but a few verses may 
assist in explaining the subject, and impressing it on your me- 
mory. It begins with alluding to the preaching of the Gospel, 
which is often compared to the blowing of the jubilee trumpet, 
which proclaimed liberty to the captive ; and so does the Gospel 





218 child’s commentator. 

proclaim deliverance to all those who are the slaves of sin, and 
would desire deliverance through the great Saviour of sinners. 

“ Blow ye the trumpet, blow 
The gladly solemn sound ! 

Let all the nations know, 

To earth’s remotest bound, 

The year of jubilee is come ; 

Return, ye ransom’d sinners, home. 

“Ye who have sold for nought 
The heritage above, 

Shall have it back unbought, 

The gift of Jesus’ love : 

The year of jubilee is come ; 

Return, ye ransom’d sinners, home. 

“Ye slaves of sin and hell, 

Your liberty receive, 

And safe in Jesus dwell, 

And blest in Jesus live : 

The year of jubilee is come ; 

Return, ye ransom’d sinners, home. 

“ Exalt the Lamb of God, 

The sin-atoning Lamb ; 

Redemption by his blood 
Through all the lands proclaim : 

The year of jubilee is come ; 

Return, ye ransom’d sinners, home.” 

You will wonder to read about slaves among the people who 
were the particular people of God ; this must therefore be ex- 
lained to you before this book is closed, and perhaps this is the 
est time. 

The Hebrews had a great number of slaves. These differ from 
servants, in this way : a servant may do the same work, but is not 


child’s commentator. 


219 


his master’s property, and may leave him whenever he likes ; but 
a slave is his master’s, property, as much as his horse or his ox, and 
durst not run away ; nor is another allowed to keep him, for he 
keeps stolen goods. I am sorry to write as if slaves still exist ; 
for they do. There were many slaves in our country till re 
cently; and in some of the West Indies, they have black 
people to cultivate the sugar-cane and tobacco, because the 
country is too hot for whites to work, who are used to a 
colder climate; and many of these people and their parents 
were, not long since, stolen from their own country in Africa, 
and sold as slaves, and cruelly treated by their masters ; indeed, 
some of them are very rough to them still. But Jewish slaves 
were not liable to the same evils. Those taken in war were 
bought, sold, or exchanged, like goods ; but this was a special 
punishment of the Almighty on idolaters, and none of these were 
stolen ; for he that stole a man was to be put to death. The He- 
brew slaves were poor persons, who sold themselves , just as a man 
now takes what is called a bounty , or a sum of money, to become 
a soldier for many years ; or they had run in debt without think- 
ing how they were to pay, and were obliged to sell themselves 
for want of money ; or they were delivered as slaves by their pa- 
rents, who were not able to keep them, and so were a kind of 
apprentices for anumber of years. You may read the account of 
them in this chapter. The heathen slaves were to be such always ; 
but even they were not to be cruelly treated ; for, in the twenty- 
first chapter of Exodus, we read a noble law, which obliged the 
unmerciful slave-holder to set the slave at liberty, whose eye or 
tooth he had knocked out ; and here it is commanded that the 
Jewish slave should not be ruled over with rigour, which he would 
have been, if made to work beyond his strength, or too long at a 
time, or without sufficient food or other comforts. So that you 
see, that though the Jews were allowed to have slaves, they were 
under very strict regulations to treat them with kindness ; and 
all, except the heathen slaves, were set at full liberty in the year 
of jubilee. Those who had kind masters often returned to live 
with them a second time ; when they went to the judges, told 
them they wished to live with their good old masters all their 
days, and then, in token of it. had their ears bored w T ith an awl 



220 child’s commentator. 


against the door-posts of their master’s house ; when they became 
his property till another year of jubilee, which probably few ever 
lived to see. The account of this ceremony you will find in the 
twenty-first chapter of Exodus. 


THE TWENTY-SIXTH CHAPTER OF LEVITICUS. 

Commandments , Promises, and Threatenings. 


“ These are the statutes and judgments and laws, which the Lord 
made between him and the children of Israel in Mount Sinai 
by the hand of Moses.” — Ver. 46. 


Here God commands Israel to make no more idols, as they did 
the golden calf — to keep holy the Sabbath-day — and to mind di- 
vine worship. 

If they will mind his commands, he promises them fine harvests ; 
for it is God Almighty that can send or withhold the rain that 
makes the corn to grow ; and he promises them peace among 
themselves, for the hearts of all men are in his hand ; and he pro- 
mises to protect them from wild beasts, which in those parts often 
do much harm ; and he promises them victory over all their 
enemies ; and he promises them so much store in their barns, 
that they should remove the old to make room for the new ; and 
he promises them the great privilege of Divine worship, and his 
presence and blessing with everything. See how many and great 
are God’s promises to those who love and fear him ! 

But, if Israel disobey God’s commands, then they must expect 
to feel his displeasure ; and here he threatens them with terror, 
consumption, burning, ague, destruction by enemies, slavery, wild 
beasts, pestilence, famine, so that there shall be so little bread to 
bake, that ten women shall bake the bread of ten families in one 
oven, which every family has hitherto used for itself ; in fact, he 
threatens them with total desolation, and ruin, and captivity. 

W e shall hereafter see that they did not obey God ; that they 




child’s commentator. 221 


were carried away captive ; that they then at last repented ; and 
that God, as he promised, remembered the covenant of their an- 
cestors, and restored them again to their land. 


THE TWENTY-SEVENTH CHAPTER OP LEVITICUS. 

Vows . 


“ And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the chil- 
dren of Israel, and say unto them, When a man shall make a 
singular vow, the persons shall be for the Lord by thv estima- 
tion.” — Vers. 1, 2. 




i 

/ 


A vow was a promise made to God of doing some good thing 
hereafter. The meaning of the text above, which begins the 
chapter, is this : if any one has vowed to give any person or thing 
to the Lord, if he wishes to ransom it, or to give its value in- 
stead, for the benefit of the house of God ; the priest, in that 
case, may set a value upon it, and take that value in money in- 
stead of the person or thing vowed. 

You will read here of the value of a male, and of a female, and 
of a beast, and of a house, and of a field ; for all these, a man 
might, perhaps, vow to give to God. 

But why should he so vow or promise ? and what need had 
God of them ] 

I will tell you. A man might have received some very great 
kindness from God, beyond the bounty and goodness which we all 
receive every day. Under the fresh recollection of this, with a 
heart full of gratitude* he might say, “ O, what shall I do in re- 
turn, to show how much I thank God 1 ? I will give my servant 
for the service of his house for ever : there he shall work and 
help the priests. Or, I will give a bullock as a proof of my gra- 
titude, and it shall be offered on his altar.” So, when Jacob went 
into Mesopotamia, he vowed to God a tenth part of his estates ; 
that is, as if a man who has ten fields, should vow one of them, 





child's commentator. 


222 

which would be the tenth ; or have a hundred cattle, should vow 
ten of them, which would also be the tenth, and he promised to 
offer it at Bethel to the honour of God. 

Now, a man, when he thought more about it, might have wished 
that he had not vowed what he had — perhaps even a daughter. 
In that case, a value was set upon the vow, and he paid that value. 

There was, however, a more rigid vow, in which nothing could 
be redeemed ; but the things vowed were to be devoted entirely 
and at once to the service of the Lord. So we read — “ No de- 
voted thing that a man shall devote unto the Lord, of all that he 
hath, both of man and beast, and of the field of his possessions, 
shall be sold or redeemed : every devoted thing is most holy un- 
to the Lord.” 

We read in this chapter about tithes. These were a tenth part 
of what the earth brought forth, which God commanded to be given 
to the support of religion ; and also a tenth part of the flocks and 
herds which fed upon the fruits of the earth. You will read in 
the thirty-second verse of a curious way of taking this tenth : 
“ And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of 
whatsoever passeth under the rod , the tenth shall be holy unto the 
Lord.” Now, when a man was to give the tithe of his sheep or 
calves to God, he was to shut up his flock in one fold, in which 
there was one narrow door, capable of letting out one at a time. 
The owner, about to give the tenth to the Lord, stood by the door 
with a rod in his hand, the end of which was dipped in vermilion 
— a very red colour, or red ochre, with which you sometimes see 
sheep now marked ; the mothers of these lambs or calves stood 
without : the door being opened, the young ones ran out to join 
themselves to their dams ; and as they passed out the owner stood 
with his rod over them, and counted one, two, three, four, five, 
and so on to ten ; and when the tenth came, he touched it.with 
the coloured rod, by which it was distinguished to be the tithe 
calf, sheep, &c. ; and whether poor or lean, perfect or blemished, 
that was received as the proper tithe. This is the account the 
Jews give of taking the tithe, and it is believed to be correct. 



ENCAMPMENT OP THE IbKAELlTEn 


V 





HOUNT HORKB 




NUMBERS, 

WHICH MEANS 

THE BOOK OF NUMBERING THE ISRAELITES. 


THE FIRST AND SECOND CHAPTERS OF NUMBERS. 

The Numbering of the Tribes of Israel. 

“Aid the Lord spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in 
the Tabernacle of the congregation, on the first day of the se- 
cond month, in the second year after they were come out of 
the land of Egypt, saying, 

Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Is- 
rael, after their families, by the house of their fathers, with the 
number of their names, every male by their polls ; 

'* From twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go 
forth to war in Israel : thou and Aaron shalt number them by 
their armies.” — Chap. i. 1 — 3. 


In the second year after Israel had come out of Egypt, Moses 
was ordered to number the people. Did not God, then, know how 
many there were without numbering ? and could he not have told 
Moses the number, without his taking the trouble to count them 1 
Yes ; he certainly knew every man, and the heart of every man, 
for he knows all things ; and he could have told Moses had he 
pleased ; but he wished this ceremony to be gone through, that 
Israel might be more impressed with what it was to teach them. 




child’s commentator. 


They had greatly increased in numbers, and God would now 
prove to them how he had kept his word to Abraham, that he 
should be the father of a very numerous posterity. They were 
so unbelieving, as by this time you must well know, that they 
would hardly have thought it possible they were so numerous, 
had Moses only told them their number ; and so he was ordered 
to count them, that they might see for themselves. 

What a wonderful increase was here ! You must well remem- 
ber that when Jacob’s sons went down into Egypt there were only 
seventy souls ; and, now, about two hundred and fifteen years 
afterwards, the people are indeed “ as the stars of heaven for 
multitude.” 

They had also murmured and sinned against God ; so that he 
had resolved that they should never be put in possession of the 
promised land of Canaan, but that their children only should have 
it. These would then know how true was the word of God, 
when, at the end of thirty-eight years, they should find that there 
were but three left out of this large number, now amounting to 
six hundred and twenty-five thousand eight hundred and fifty 
men, reckoning those above twenty years of age ; for at that pe- 
riod they were ordered to be counted again. 

Another reason for this numbering of the people was to set 
them in proper order, so that, as they were now so very numer- 
ous, they might know how to march through the wilderness, 
which thej 7 were otherwise likely to do in great confusion, like 
as a mol} ‘ . vcs compared with a regular army. 

Yet a further reason is clearly understood, in the command to 
count all those only that were “able to go forth to war in Israel.” 
For Israel were very timid, and they would feel more courage 
when they knew now strong they were ; though all their numbers 
would have been nothing, if God had not protected them ; for the 
Canaanites were much more numerous than they, when they en- 
tered into the land to drive them out : yet as God was not with 
that idolatrous people, to protect them, they often fled before a 
few handfuls of Israelites. 

Every man by their polls, means by the number of their heads. 

The third and fourth chapters contain an account of the num 



child’s commentator. 227 

bering of the Levites, and of what each was to do, in taking care 
of the Tabernacle, which was solely intrusted to the Levites ; and 
the fifth chapter repeats for the forgetful Israelites, some former 
laws about the leper, which we have already read. We there- 
fore pass on to the sixth chapter. 


THE SIXTH CHAPTER OP NUMBERS. 

The Law concerning Nazarites. 

“ This is the law of the Nazarite who hath vowed, and of his of- 
fering unto the Lord for his separation.” — Ver. 21. 


A Nazarite means a separated person , — that is, one who sepa- 
rates himself from the affairs of the world, to be entirely employ- 
ed in the service of God. 

Under the ancient law of Moses, there were persons who made 
peculiar vows to become Nazarites. When this was the case, the 
Nazarite would not allow himself to drink wine prepared in any 
way ; for the sacred command respecting the Nazarite was, “ He 
shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink 
no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he 
drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried. All 
the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the 
vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk.” The reason of this 
was, that his understanding might be quite clear to meditate on 
God Almighty’s goodness, and that he might be the fitter for 
praise and prayer to God. 

The Nazarite never shaved his head , but let his hair grow. So 
God commanded : “ All the days of the vow of his separation 
there shall no razor come upon his head.” He was not to cut off 
his hair in any way ; for, at the end of the time fixed by his vow, 
he was to cut off the hair ; and as he could not offer his own body, 
— for God did not require that, — he offered his hair that he cut 



228 child’s commentator . 

off, and put it in the fire on the altar of the Lord : this was a sigi 
by which he would show that he belonged to the Lord. 

The Nazarite was also not to enter any house in which there was 
a dead corpse, for that was defiling ; nor was he to be present at 
any funeral . This is what is meant in those words, “ All the 
days that he separateth himself unto the Lord he shall come at no 
* dead body . He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or 
for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die,” 
which he would have done had he touched their dead bodies. 

The vow's of the Nazarites sometimes lasted for all their lives, 
but some only for as short a time as eight days. 

When the time was over, the priest brought the person to the 
door of the temple, who there offered to the Lord a he-lamb for a 
burnt-offering, a she-lamb for a sacrifice of expiation or removing 
guilt, and a ram for a peace-offering. He also offered loaves and 
1 1 1 cakes, with w r ine. When all w r as done, the priest, or some one 
beside, shaved the head of the Nazarite at the door of the Taber - 
i nacle, and burnt his hair, for the reasons before-mentioned, on the 
: fire of the altar. Then the priest put into the hands of the Naza- 

rite the shoulder of the ram which had been roasted, with a loaf 
| and a cake, which the Nazarite put back into the priest’s hands, 
who offered them to the Lord. From this time the Nazarite 
might again drink wine, and his vow r was finished. 

I have told you before, my dear young reader, that these cere- 
monies w'ere types or representations of persons and things — as 
pictures represent and describe the shape of a house, or the face 
of a friend ; that they were to teach us something more import- 
ant than themselves ; and all this form about the Nazarite is 
meant to show us, that if we would separate ourselves for the 
service of God, as every Christian ought to do, we should “ live 
soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.” 




Vil 


child's commentator. 


THE SEVENTH CHAPTER OF NUMBERS. 

The Offerings of the Tribes to the Tabernacle. 

u And it came to pass on the day that Moses had fully set up the 
Tabernacle, and had anointed it, and sanctified it, and all the 
instruments thereof, both the altar and all the vessels thereof, 
and had anointed them, and sanctified them ; 

“ That the princes of Israel, heads of the house of their fathers, 
who were the princes of the tribes, and were over them that 
were numbered,, offered.” — Vers. 1, 2. 


We have read before about the building of the Tabernacle, 
and the duties of the various officers belonging to it. Here we 
have something more about it ; and this chapter gives us an ac- 
count of the liberal offering which God put into the hearts of all 
the princes, or chief men of the tribes, to present for the use of 
the Tabernacle, after having probably collected some of what 
they gave from amongst the people. 

They first presented “ six covered wagons, and twelve oxen ; a 
wagon for two of the princes, and for each one an ox : and they 
brought them before the Tabernacle.” As their other presents 
were very handsome, these wagons were no doubt the best of their 
kind, that they might be fit for the service of the Tabernacle. 
But what did they want with wagons ? Why, you know that the 
children of Israel moved about from place to place in the wilder- 
ness, and that then they had to take down the Tabernacle, and 
move all its materials with them. You must recollect that there 
were persons called Levites, who were appointed to carry the 
materials : so Moses divided the wagons among them accordingly. 
To the Gershonites, or sons of Gershon, who had to carry the 
lighter things, such as the curtains and hangings, he gave two 
wagons , and two yoke of oxen ; when they had loaded these, -they 
must carry the rest, if any remained, upon their shoulders. The 
Merarites, that had the heavy carriage, or such things as were 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


230 

more solid and weighty, — such as the boards, and pillars, and 
sockets, — had four wagons , and four yoke of oxen ; yet much must 
have remained for them to carry upon their backs, so that they 
were not to be idle ; but they were not at the same time to be 
overburdened. The weight of which they had to take care was 
very great, for the silver sockets only weighed a hundred talents, 
which was about four tons, and one ton only is twenty hundred 
weight,' -L-every hundred weight, so called, being one hundred and 
twelve pounds. These four tons were enough to load four wa- 
gons that were drawn by but one yoke of oxen a-piece ; two oxen 
having quite as much as they could draw with one ton. Each 
socket being a talent weight, which is about a man’s burthen, 
probably they carried those on their backs, and put the boards 
and pillars into the wagons. 

Thus, you see, the wagons served to ease the Levites of their 
burthens ; and being covered wagons, they would better protect 
some of the materials of the Tabernacle, that needed to be kept 
from the sun and weather. 

“ But unto the sons of Kohath, he” (Moses) “ gave none” (no 
wagons), “ because the service of the sanctuary belonging unto 
them was that they should bear upon their shoulders.” For in 
the fourth chapter we have read, that they had the charge of the 
ark, table, candlestick, altars, and the like, which were to be car- 
ried upon their shoulders ; for those sacred things were not to be 
drawn by beasts. 

The princes offered, besides other things, during twelve days, 
one prince after the other, — that is, one every day for each tribe, 
according to the marching order of their standards ; and their 
offerings were the same each day. This was as God commanded, 
that each tribe might have equal honour in contributing. 

The offering of each prince was as follows : “ One silver 
charger,” or dish, perhaps, to hold the meat offering, the weight 
whereof was one hundred and thirty shekels ; “ which was above 
sixty-one ounces,” and in value more than eighty dollars. “ One 
silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary,” 
or after the standard weight of the sanctuary ; a standard being 
kept there to weigh the shekel exactly. This bowl was either to 


child’s commentator. 


231 


hold the drink-offering, or receive the blood of the sacrifices, 
weighed above thirty-three ounces, and was worth almost forty 
dollars. “ Both of them were full of fine flour, mingled with oil 
for a meat-offering.” There was also “ one spoon of ten shekels of 
gold, full of incense,” intended for the service of the golden altar. 

Besides the before-named, there were added “ one young bul- 
lock, one ram, one lamb of the first year for a burnt-offering. 
And for a sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five 
he-goats, five lambs of the first year.” Part of these offerings 
were to be eaten with their friends, — expressing that the service 
of God may be connected with the moderate enjoyment of provi- 
dential comforts ; and part of them were to point to Christ, the 
great sacrifice for sin, through whom, whatever we offer to God 
acceptably, must be received. 

In all, then, there were twelve large silver dishes, as many sil- 
ver cups, and as many golden spoons, for the service of the altar ; 
besides the animals. 

“This was the dedication of the altar after that it was 
anointed.” 

All this shows us that we ought to support the worship of God, 
and to do all that we can to keep it up in the world, — and that 
cheerfully and willingly, and as far as we can liberally. 


THE EIGHTH CHAPTER OF NUMBERS. 

Directions about the Levites. 

From the First to the Fourteenth Verse. 

“ And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 

“ Take the Levites from among the' children of Israel, and cleanse 
them. 

“ And thus shalt thou do unto them, to 'cleanse them : sprinkle 
water of purifying upon them, and let them shave all their 
flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves 

• clean.” — Vers. 5 — 7. 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


232 

By this time you must have read enough about the Levites 
without being told any more who they were. 

Aaron is now told to light the seven lamps of the golden can- 
dlestick, and then to proceed to prepare the Levites for their work. 

This he was to do in this way : — He was to sprinkle water 
upon them, and they were to shave themselves, and wash their 
clothes. All this meant that the ministers of religion must be 
good men, and not wicked men : good men being represented as 
purifying themselves, by God’s help, from all filthiness of the 
flesh and spirit; or, of the disposition as well as of the practice; 
and evil men as being defiled, because they love and live in sin. 
As by God’s help, in giving us life and strength, we can wash our 
hands and our clothes ; so then you see by his help we may be- 
come what are called holy men — men who love and serve God. 

Now, God having spared all the first-born children of the Israel- 
ites, when he destroyed those of the Egyptians, just before the 
Israelites came out of Egypt, he desired that the first-born of 
“man and beast” should always afterwards be given to him ; but 
instead of the first-born children, he accepted of the Levites. 

The children of Israel were therefore to be gathered together 
on this occasion, and they were to put their hands upon the Le- 
vites, and the Levites were to be offered by Aaron to do the ser- 
vice of the Lord. And there was to be a sin-offering and a burnt- 
offering to make atonement to the Lord ; for, as all that men do 
is mixed with sin, these sacrifices — as you have before been told 
— were to show that pardon through the Lamb of God, Jesus 
Christ, was at all times necessary, before God could be pleased 
with the offerings of his servants. 

“ Thus,” said the Lord to Moses, “ shalt thou separate the Le- 
vites from among the children of Israel : and the Levites shall be 
mine.” 

The rest of the chapter is merely to tell us that “ Moses, and 
Aaron, and all the congregation of the children of Israel, did to 
the Levites according unto all that the Lord commanded Moses 
concerning the Levites.” 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


233 


THE NINTH CHAPTER OF NUMBERS. 

The Pillar of Cloud and Fire, 

“ And on the day that the Tabernacle was reared up, the cloud 
covered the Tabernacle, namely, the tent of the testimony : 
and at even there was upon the Tabernacle as it were the ap- 
pearance of fire, until the morning.” — Ver. 15. 


In what has been said on the thirteenth and fourteenth chap- 
ters of Exodus, you have already read something about the pillar 
of cloud and fire. 

This chapter contains little but what you may understand with- 
out any help, as it is very plain and easy, and speaks of the keep- 
ing of the passover, after a year should have passed away from 
the first keeping of it ; and if any person should be unable to keep 
it on the exact day appointed, which was the fourteenth day of 
the first month, because he was reckoned unclean, or for any other 
reason, — then another day was fixed for him, and others in the 
like case, to keep it also, which was the fourteenth day of the se- 
cond month, or a month after ; but nobody was to neglect it on 
any account, or he was to bear his sin, and God would punish him. 

This was to teach you and me that we are to do all the religious 
duties which God commands us ; and that if we neglect them, 
he will certainly punish us. 

Then we have a further account of the pillar of cloud and fire ; 
and we are told that as soon as the Tabernacle was put up, this 
cloud rested over it, something like the clouds which you may 
have seen resting in the air on a fine day over the top of some 
high hill, and perhaps shining with bright colours on the side next 
the sun, and looking dark on the other. “ So it was alway : the 
cloud covered the Tabernacle by day, and the appearance of fire 
by night.” 



This cloud was meant to show the Israelites that God was pres- 
ent in a particular manner in his Tabernacle. You know that 
he is present everywhere, so that we can never get out of God’s 
sight : but this was a token given to Israel only, to show that he 
was present with them, not only to see them and to hear them, 
but to protect them. 

This cloud was also a sign for the people to follow, as armies 
follow a flag which guides them ; for, “ when the cloud was taken 
up from the Tabernacle, then, after that, the children of Israel 
journeyed, and at the commandment of the Lord they pitched,” 
or put down their tents to dwell in : “ as long as the cloud abode 
upon the Tabernacle, they rested in the tents.” 

So, if the cloud moved, they marched : and if it rested, they 
rested, whether by night or by day : for by day it was dark, and 
they could see it ; and it, perhaps, even.rcast a shadow over all the 
army, to keep it from the burning sun ; and by night it was 
bright, and served as a bright moon to guide all their steps, and 
keep them from the confusion which such an army must have 
fallen into without such an aid. So, “ whether it were two days, 
or a month, or a year, that the cloud tarried,” or rested, “ upon 
the Tabernacle, remaining thereon, the children of Israel abode in 
their tents, and journeyed not : but when it was taken up they 
journeyed. At the commandment of the Lord they rested in the 
tents, and at the commandment of the Lord they journeyed : they 
kept the charge of the Lord, at the commandment of the Lord 
by the hand of Moses.” Probably, some one was also on the 
watch, to see the motions of the cloud night and day, as soldiers 
are kept as sentinels, and take turns with each other ; and the 
children of Israel were also always ready to march at a moment’s 
notice, as we ought always to be ready to obey the will of God, 
which we also often learn from his holy word ; for this world is 
to us what the wilderness was to the Israelites. It is not our 
rest ; but we must prepare for another. A good God gives us 
his Bible, to be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our paths ; 
and so we are guided on in the way to a better country — that is, 
a heavenly, where all who serve God as his real people do, shall 
at last arrive. In this sense we sometimes sing — 











ISRAELITES GATHERING MANNA 



* 










CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


237 


“ Guide me, 0 thou great Jehovah, 
Pilgrim through this barren land ; 

I am weak, but thou art mighty, 

Hold me with thy powerful hand : 

Bread of Heaven, 

Feed me till I want no more. 

“ Open thou the crystal fountain, 
Whence the healing streams do flow ; 
Let the fiery cloudy pillar 
Lead me all my journey through. 
Strong Deliverer, 

Be thou still my strength and shield.” 


THE TENTH CHAPTER OF NUMBERS. 

The Silver Trumpets , and March from Sinai. 

“ Make thee two trumpets of silver ; of a whole piece shalt thou 
make them : that thou mayest use them for the calling of the 
assembly, and for the journeying of the camps.” 


The children of Israel had pitched their tents before Mount 
Sinai for about a year, and they were now expected to remove ; 
but, before they marched, they were commanded to make two 
silver trumpets ; these, when both were blown, were to call the 
whole congregation together ; and when only one was blown, it 
iyas to call the chiefs together. When any alarm was blown, or, 
instead of one long and continued sound, the notes of one trum- 
pet were made to rattle, the people were to march ; and each 
time the rattling alarm sounded, making a noise like tara-tan - 
tar a, different bodies were to march one after another, so as to 
prevent jostling and confusion. If the alarm was to prepare for 
war, then a tara-tan-tara was blown on two trumpets. 


238 


child’s commentator. 


These trumpets were also to be blown in the day of “ gladness,’' 
or whenever Israel might triumph over their enemies ; on “ solemn 
days,” or festivals, as the Passover, Pentecost, 'and Tabernacle ; 
in the beginnings of their months, especially on the first day of 
the seventh month, which was a feast of blowing of trumpets : but 
you have been already told that nobody now knows exactly why 
this feast was kept : and lastly, these trumpets were to be blown 
over the “ burnt-offerings,” and over the “ sacrifices” of their 
“peace-offerings,” as expressing joy for the acceptance of them ; 
and especially when they had, by faith, a view of the great sacri- 
fice of Christ, which these offerings were intended to represent. 

There were only two trumpets, for that was the number of the 
priests, who were Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron ; and 
the priests only were to blow these trumpets. In Solomon’s 
time there were a hundred and twenty priests, and then there 
were as many trumpets. 

And now the cloud moved, and all Israel moved. “ And they 
firsts took their journey according to the commandment of the 
Lord by the hand of Moses or, as we read in the ninth chapter 
— “ At the commandment of the Lord the children of Israel jour- 
neyed, and at the commandment of the Lord they pitched that 
is, set up their tents : — “ as long as the cloud abode upon the 
Tabernacle, they rested in their tents Moses having given them 
God’s command ; and as we give things with the hand , it is here 
said to be given by the hand of Moses. 

We may suppose that the cloud had stood for some time after 
it “was taken up from off the Tabernacle of the testimony,’ 
which was that part of the Tabernacle where the ark of the testi- 
mony stood, even the most holy place. There must have been 
a great deal of work, to take down all the tents, and pack up all 
the goods ; but, as every family managed their own, the work 
was not so long in doing as we might at first suppose. 

Here we have their order of march. “ In the first place went 
the standard,” or colours, “ of the camp of the children of Judah 
just as our soldiers often march with flags flying to distinguish the 
different army corps; and they had for their captain, “ Nahshon, 
the son of Arninadab.” Then there was the Tabernacle, borne 




CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


by the two families of the Levites, the sons of Gershon, and the 
sons of Merari, who were appointed to carry it. For this there 
were six wagons. 

The second division was Reuben's , with its flag flying, and its 
captain ; and this was followed by the Kohathites, bearing the sa- 
cred furniture of the Tabernacle, and those who had gone before 
with the Tabernacle, set it up against these came with the furni- 
ture. 

Then, third in order after the ark, followed Ephraim's nu- 
merous host; and 

Last , “ the standard of the camp of the children of Dan set 
forward, which was the rere-ward,” or gathering body , “ of all the 
camps throughout their hosts.” These took with them what were 
left of the rest 1 — some being unfit to mix with the body, as were 
the unclean, and some were too feeble to go first, so they were 
allowed to march behind, and get forward at a slower rate. 

What a noble army was here ! How grand a sight it must have 
been to have seen it marching! For Judah’s camp had a hun- 
dred and eighty-six thousand four hundred men fit for war ; and 
Reuben’s, an hundred and fifty -one thousand four hundred and 
fifty warlike men ; and Ephraim’s, one hundred and eight thou- 
sand one hundred men fit for soldiers ; and Dan’s, one hundred 
and fifty -seven thousand six hundred strong men ; besides the 
Levites and others, that were behind. Would not you have liked 
to have seen the flags flying over this great multitude, which 
made in all more than half a million of men, besides women and 
children, and priests ? But I should have liked to have seen the 
sign of God’s presence with them. “ What was that ?” Why, 
the pillar of cloud and fire, by which the Almighty guided them. 
So many people having the token of God’s favour, ought to have 
thought themselves the most happy people in the world. 

Moses having been visited by a relation of the name of Hobab, 
now persuaded him to go on to the land of Canaan, and promised 
him that he should share in all the privileges of the Israelites ; 
for good men, who know what a blessing it is to enjoy the pro- 
tection and favour of God, are always happy when others share 
with them in their enjoyments. 


240 



child’s commentator. 

We do not find any reply that Hobab here made to Moses, 
and therefore we hope his silence gave consent, and he did not 
leave them ; although at the first he refused to go, and wished to 
return to his own country, and live among the Midianites. 

The Israelites went this time three days’ journey from Sinai, 
“ and the cloud rested in the wilderness of Paran.” 

The chapter concludes by telling us the words that Moses used 
to repeat when the ark set forward. He said, “ Rise up, Lord, and 
let thine enemies be scattered ; and let them that hate thee flee 
before thee” — that is, show thy power and glory in scattering the 
enemies of Israel, as the sun when he rises scatters the darkness 
of night, so that it is no more seen. 

And we are also told what words Moses used when the ark 
rested : he said, “ Return, O Lord ! unto the many thousands of 
Israel by which he prayed that the presence of God might be 
with them, as it had been before. 


THE ELEVENTH CHAPTER OP NUMBERS. 

The murmuring Israelites fed with Quails. 

“ And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a-lusting ; 
and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall 
give us flesh to eat 1 

“We remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt freely ; the 
cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and 
the garlic. 

“ But now our soul is dried away ; there is nothing at all, be- 
sides this manna, before our eyes.” — Vers. 4 — 6. 


The people had for some time behaved themselves pretty well, 
and nothing very wrong is related about them since they com- 
mitted the sin of worshipping a golden calf, but here we find them 
complaining. 




CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


241 


What were their complaints about 1 When we consider how 
Kindly God guided their camp, what good victuals they had, and 
what good company, and what care was taken of them in their 
marches, that their feet should not swell, nor their clothes wear, 
of which you will read in Deuteronomy, — what oause could they 
have to complain 1 

Why, it is hard to guess : but some think they complained of 
the weather ; and some, of the way ; and some, of the length of 
the journey ; while others think that they complained that the 
journey was not long enough, and that they ought at once to have 
gone on till they got into Canaan. Good Mr. Henry says, 
“ Those that are of a fretful, discontented spirit will always find 
something or other to quarrel with, though the circumstances of 
their outward condition be ever so favourable.” 

Such conduct is very ungrateful to God, and very displeasing 
to him ; and so he consumed the ringleaders of these murmurers 
as he did Nadab and Abihu : “ And when the people complained, 
it displeased the Lord ; and the Lord heard it ; and his anger was 
kindled ; and the fire of the Lord burnt among them, and con- 
sumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp. And 
the people cried unto Moses ; and when Moses prayed unto the 
Lord, the fire was quenched. And he called the name of the 
place Taberah, which means a burning ; because the fire of the 
Lord burnt among them.” And, by giving the spot this name, 
they would remember what they brought upon themselves by 
murmuring ; and others would hear and fear, and take warning, 
not to sin as they did, lest they should smart as they did. 

But what a provoking people were Israel ! How fast one 
offence followed another ! They soon murmured again. When 
they left Egypt, “ a mixt multitude went up also with them 
some perhaps being disposed to leave their country because it was 
wasted by plagues, and some hoping to benefit by sharing in the 
prosperity of Israel. These people, however, did not fear God, 
and they “fell a-lusting ,” or earnestly wishing for what they 
thought better food, and for their own country. And the children 
of Israel followed their bad example, and they began to talk about 
what nice things they used to get in Egypt,— fish, and cucumbers, 


child’s commentator. 


242 

and melons, and leeks, and onions, and garlic, — and to complain 
of the manna. You may wonder that they reckoned leeks, and 
onions, and garlic, which is like onions, among their good things 
which they so greatly desire ; they are, however, very nice things 
in that part of the world, and so richly flavoured, that ours will 
give scarcely any notion of them. But what were all these good 
things to this silly people, when they were in Egypt in a state of 
slavery 1 They paid dearly for them at the price of their liberty. 
They should have thought of the other things which they had 
there, — of their brick-kilns, where they had such hard labour, and 
of their cruel task-masters, that were set over them, to make 
them manufacture bricks without straw. And, with all this, they 
talked as if they had lived in Egypt like princes, and spoke of 
the manna as if it was the most unpleasant food in the world. 

A traveller of the name of Biirckhardt long ago discovered a 
food among the Arabs, a people in that country where the Israel- 
ites travelled, which they call Mann, and which he thinks was the 
manna, It is true that that food is said to have come down from 
heaven ; but so does this, for it is always found in years when 
there has been plenty of rain ; and in the month of June, it drops 
like dew from the thorns of a tree called the Tamarisk, and co- 
vers the ground about it. This food is gathered before sunrise, 
when it has a substance that can be taken up by the hand, but it 
dissolves and becomes like water as soon as the sun shines upon 
it. The Arabs boil it, strain it through a coarse piece of cloth, 
and put it into leathern skins ; in this w'ay they preserve it till 
the next year, and use it as they do honey, to dip their bread 
into. The colour of this food is a dirty yellow, and its taste is 
very fine and as sweet as honey , and considered by the Arabs as 
the greatest dainty which their country affords. 

Now , it is very possible that this is the kind of food which God 
miraculously multiplied for the people of Israel, and that he gave 
them this “ greatest dainty,” and yet they were not satisfied. If 
it was this food, it must have been greatly multiplied, because the 
Arabs cannot find more than five or six hundred pounds even in 
a plentiful year ; whereas, I have before told you, that the Hebrew 
camp w T anted not less than ninety -four thousand four hundred and 



child’s commentator. ’243 

thirty six bushels of this food every day ; and this was continued 
for forty years , whether those years were wet or dry. 

Now Moses heard the people weeping, and God Almighty was 
angry with them, and so was he. And Moses prayed to God to 
know what he should do ; and he said he was not their father, 
that he could provide meat for them all as he could for a little 
family. 

And God told him to choose seventy of the elders , or old men 
of Israel, and he would give them a portion of his spirit of wis- 
dom, and they should share with him in the burthen of managing 
such an unruly people. 

God also promised to let the Israelites have as much meat* as 
they desired ; but as they were so discontented he would punish 
them severely, so that the meat he would send them should come 
out at their “ nostrils,” and be “ loathsome” to them, — meaning 
) that it should surfeit them, and rise in their stomachs, and be of- 
fensive to their smell. 

i Moses wondered how they could get so much meat, and he 
f, said, “ The people amongst whom I am, are six hundred thousand 
footmen ; and thou hast said, I will give them flesh, that they may 
eat a whole month. Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for 
them, to suffice them ; or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered 
together for them, to suffice them ?” — meaning, that if all the 
sheep, and goats, and bullocks, were slain, which they had for 
sacrifice, they would not last for a month ; and expressing surprise 
how so many fish, as seemed to him necessary, could be caught. 
He knew that God always kept his word, but he forgot at this 
moment how great was his power, and that he who miraculously 
sent bread could also send meat ; and he never thought that little 
fowls could be sent in such numbers as to cover the camp. 

So God gave of Moses’s spirit and skill to the elders ; and 
while Moses and the rest w'ere about the Tabernacle, two of them, 
called Eldad and Medad, that were in the camp, prophesied ; and 
Joshua, the son of Nun, a servant or officer of Moses, not knmv- 
ing that God had given them their wisdom, but supposing that 
they were taking too much upon themselves, as some others had 
done before, told Moses, and asked him to forbid them. But 


I 




444 


child’s commentator. 


Moses explained to him how it was, and he said, “Would God 
that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord 
would put his spirit upon them.” 

God also fulfilled his word about the meat. “ And there went 
forth a wind from the Lord, and brought quails from the sea, and 
let them fall by the camp, as it were a day’s journey on this side, 
and as it were a day’s journey on the other side, round about the 
camp, and as it were two cubits high upon the face of the earth. 
And the people stood up all that day, and all that night, and all 
the next day, and they gathered the quails : he that gathered 
least gathered ten homers : and they spread them all abroad for 
themselves round about the camp. And while the flesh was yet 
between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord 
was kindled against the people, and the Lord smote the people 
with a very err eat Dlaeue.” 


f 



Quails are a sort of partridges ; 
they are often carried in flocks 
across the country, in those parts ; 
and by a strong wind rising, they 
were obliged to go with the wind, 
and fell down, and were probably 
also knocked down by the people. 


A day’s journey in those hot 
and sandy countries is not far, 
for people cannot travel as they 
do here ; but it is supposed that 
the quails might cover twenty 
miles of ground. 


Two cubits high was about a 
yard deep, or half the height of a 
tall man ; so that the birds were 


either so thick upon the ground, or else only that height above 
it, and so were easily got. 

An homer is about an ass load, or from six to 10| bushels, so 
that it must hold a great number of quails, and he that gathered 
least out of this large multitude of people, gathered not less than 
ten homers, or from 60 to 105 bushels of the quails. 






child’s commentator. 245 

This seems incredible* but the word of God is proved well to 
be true. Had God wanted to have made those quails for the 
purpose, we know that he could have done it, as he can do all 
things : but as there are very great numbers of quails indeed, in 
those countries, he had only to command his wind to blow, and 
force them in flocks to the camp of Israel, and there they must 
go. And history tells us, that when there was no such miracle, 
it happened once in Italy, within a month, and in the space of 
five miles, that a hundred thousand quails were taken every day. 

And God kept his word in punishing the Israelites. 

So Moses called the place where this happened by a name that 
would ever afterwards make the Israelites remember their con- 
duct to their shame : and he called the name of that place Kibroth- 
hattaavah — that is, “ the graves of lust,” because there they buried 
the people that lusted. 

It is likely that their death was brought on by gluttony, in 
eagerly eating too much of what they had so impatiently desired ; 
and if so, the name of the place was as a great monument over j i 
this large burial-ground, on which was written, “The Gluttons’ i 
Grave !” 


THE TWELFTH CHAPTER OF NUMBERS. 

Miriam's Leprosy. 

“ And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses, because of tHe 
Ethiopian woman whom he had married ; for he had married 
an Ethiopian woman. 

“ And they said, Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses ? 
hath he not spoken also by us ? and the Lord heard it.” — V ers. 
1 , 2 . 


Poor Moses had need to have been a meek man, for his pa- 
tience was continually tried, and if any excuse can at all be made 
for ill humour, it was enough to put any body out of temper to 
have been plagued as he was. 


I 



246 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


You remember to have read of his sister Miriam, and the name 
of his brother Aaron must now be well known to you. These 
had some quarrel with Moses about his wife. They called her 
an Ethiopian woman, or a black-a-moor ; but she was indeed an 
Arabian. You may recollect that her name was Zipporah, and 
that she was the daughter of Reuel, priest of Midian, sometimes 
called Raguel, and sometimes Jethro. Now, he was a Midianite, 
and the Midianites were descended from Abraham, and children 
of his wife Keturah, as you may see in the second chapter of 
Exodus, and in the twenty fifth chapter of Genesis ; and some of 
them were inhabitants of some parts of Arabia ; so that she 
would have been called with more propriety an Arabian, rather 
than an Ethiopian. 

We do not know what she affronted Miriam and Aaron about, 
but it seems they were greatly offended with her. And then 
they vented their anger against Moses, and expressed their doubts 
whether God had engaged him more than them to be the com- 
mander of Israel. 

Moses seems to have taken no notice of this affront, unkind as 
it was in a brother and sister, when he was so much troubled by 
a discontented people. But God heard what they said, for he 
hears everything that we say, and knows everything that we think. 

And God spoke from the pillar of the cloud, and desired Moses 
and Aaron, and Miriam, to come out of their tents ; and he spoke 
to them before the door of the Tabernacle, and told them that he 
was used to speak to prophets by visions and dreams, but Moses 
was not so, for with him he spoke mouth to mouth, — that is, he 
spoke as freely as we do when we speak mouth to mouth, or, as 
we sometimes say, face to face. 

And now the cloud withdrew, and Miriam was smitten with 
that dreadful disorder of which I have told you so much, called 
the Leprosy ; and she was white as snow, being covered with 
white scales, common in that complaint. 

And Aaron was very sorry for his sister, for he had been as 
guilty as she ; only, as her name was first mentioned, it is sup- 
posed that she began the quarrel. And he begged earnestly of 
Moses, that he would ask of God to take away his sister’s leprosy. 


BANES OF THE JORDAN. 













■ 




















child’s commentator. 


249 


Moses, too, was sorry for Miriam, though she had so ill used 
him, and like a kind brother he was ready to forgive her ; and he 
“ cried unto the Lord, saying, Heal her now, 0 God, I beseech 
thee.” “ And the Lord said unto Moses, If her father had but spit 
in her face,” — which among the Israelites was a sign of great an- 
ger and disgrace, — “ should she not be ashamed seven days ?” 
and not dare to go into her father’s presence. “ Let her be shut 
out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received 
in again.” “ And Miriam was shut out of the camp seven days : 
and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again. 

“And afterward the people removed from Hazeroth, and 
pitched in the wilderness of Paran.” 




THE THIRTEENTH AND FOURTEENTH CHAPTERS OF NUMBERS. 


The Twelve Spies sent to Canaan . 




“ And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 

“ Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which 
I give unto the children of Israel : of every tribe of their fa- 
thers shall ye send a man ; every one a ruler among them.” — 
Chap. xiii. 1, 2. 


The people of Israel, though God had been so kind to them, 
did not seem yet wholly inclined to believe all that he promised. 
So they wished to send somebody into Canaan to know if it was 
a country worth having. God therefore told Moses to satisfy 
them, though certainly they did not deserve to have their curi- 
osity satisfied ; for they ought rather to have believed what he 
said by his faithful servant Moses, — whose words had so often 
come twie, — than any report that spies might bring. 

Accordingly Moses chose a man out of every tribe : and, as 
there were twelve tribes, so of course there were twelve men sent 
as spies to see the land. I must tell you that a spy means a 
person who goes slily to look at an enemy’s army or country ; 



250 


child’s commentator. 


for, had it been known that these men were in Canaan to see if 
it was worth taking, and likely to be conquered, the Canaanites 
would soon have killed them, and the Israelites would have been 
no wiser for their journey. 

“ And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said 
unto them, Get you up this way southward, and go up into the 
mountain : and see the land, what it is ; and the people that 
dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many ; 
and what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or 
bad ; and what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents 
or in strong holds ; and what the land is, whether it be fat or 
lean, whether there be wood therein or not. And be ye of good 
courage, and bring of the fruit of the land.” 

You must remember being told, in the third chapter of Exodus, 
that God # promised that Moses should be the deliverer of Israel, 
and that they should yet possess a land flowing with milk and 
honey, or, in other words, full of fine herbs to feed cattle and 
make them give milk ; and full of flowers, out of which bees 
might make plenty of honey. So now the spies were to see if 
Canaan was, indeed, such a country ; whether the people were 
likely to fight boldly to defend it ; and if they were more nume- 
rous than Israel ; and if the soil was fat and rich, or lean and 
barren, bearing nothing to reward the labourer ; and whether 
there was any wood to build habitations. 

So the spies went all through the land from the south to the 
north. It is thought that they did not all go together ; for then 
the Canaanites would have suspected them : but they went in 
several companies of two or three each, and so they passed very 
well for travellers. 

“ And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from 
thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it be- 
tween two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates 
and of the figs.” A traveller, who lived not many years ago, tells 
us that he saw grapes in the valley of Eshcol, the clusters of which 
weighed ten or twelve pounds, and another saw bunches at Da- 
mascus that weighed forty-five pounds. These grapes might be 
too large for one man to carry a great way in a warm country, rr 


251 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. ZOl 

they might have been so ripe that they were liable to be bruised 
to pieces if squeezed in the hands, and so they were carried 
hanging upon a staff, one end of which was on the shoulders of 
one man, and the other end on the shoulders of another man, just 
as our brewers’ men carry a cask of beer between two. 

The spies also brought pomegranates. This is a fine fruit, 
which grows in the country which the spies visited, then called 
Canaan, and now more commonly known by the name of Palestine, 
which I shall in future often call it, so that when 1 speak of Pales- 
tine, just remember it is the country that was formerly called 
Canaan. The pomegranate bears a red blossom like a rose, is 
about the size of a large apple, and, being full of juice, is very 
pleasant, and valuable in a hot country for quenching the thirst. 
This fruit being considered handsome in shape, part of the orna- 
ments of the high priest’s robe were made like it. You therefore 
read in the twenty-eighth chapter of Exodus what the Lord com- 
manded Moses about Aaron’s robe : “ And beneath, upon the hem 
of it, thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and 
of scarlet, round about the hem thereof, and bells of gold between 
them, round about : a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden 
bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about.” 

You know what a fig is, and the fig-tree grows very large in 
Palestine, and bears very fine fruit, which is soft, sweet, and nou- 
rishing. 

“ The spies returned from searching of the land, after forty 
days,” and then they said to Moses, “We came unto the land 
whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and 
honey ; and this is the fruit of it,” showing him the fine grapes, 
and the pomegranates, and the figs. W ell, then, so far they found 
that what God had told them by the lips of Moses was quite true. 
Surely then they were ready to go and take the land. No ; these 
cowardly spies went on to say, “ Nevertheless, the people be strong 
that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great : 
and, moreover, we saw the children of Anak there.” “ And they 
brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched 
unto the children of Israel, saying, The land through which we 
have gone, to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants 



child’s commentator. 


252 

thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of great 
stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which 
come of the giants : and we were in our own sight as grasshop- 
pers, and so we were in their sight.” This was a very alarming 
story, and frightened the Israelites. They began to think, how 
can we ever take such a country, where the people are so strong, — 
so well protected, in towns with thick and high walls all around 
their cities, — so tall that we are only little things by their side, — 
and where the land is the grave of the inhabitants, and eats them 
up, as the grave seems to swallow up the dead body that is shut 
up in it, the people dying in great numbers by war and pestilence. 

Caleb, the spy of the tribe of Judah, gave, however, a very 
different account of the country ; he “ stilled the people before 
Moses, and said, Let us go up at once and possess it ; for we are 
well able to overcome it.” 

But Israel, still a perverse people, began to cry like a number 
of little children, and they said, “Would God that we had died 
in the land of Egypt, or would God we had died in this wilder- 
ness.” And they asked why God had brought them there ; and 
at last they resolved that they would get another captain instead 
of Moses, and he should take them back into Egypt. 

Wbat a fine plight these people would have been in had they 
gone back to Egypt ! But they never thought of that. Would 
not the Egyptians have made them worse slaves than ever, after 
they had lost their king, and their army, and their chariots and 
horses, in pursuing them 1 and would they not have taunted them 
for their folly ? 

Moses and Aaron were ashamed of them, and they fell on their 
faces before them all, and no doubt prayed earnestly to God in 
their behalf. 

And Joshua the son of Nun, who had been the spy of the tribe 
of Ephraim, and Caleb, of whom mention has been made, rent 
their clothes, which the Jews always did in great trouble : “ And 
they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, 
The land which we passed through to search it is an exceeding 
good land If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into 
this land, and give it us : a land which floweth with milk and 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


253 

honey. Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the 
people of the t land ; for they are bread for us,” as easily to be 
consumed as bread is by eating ; “ their defence is departed from 
them,” for God would not protect them as they were so very 
wicked a people ; “ and the Lord is with us, fear them not.” 

Now this was very kind, and encouraging, and civil language; 
but, instead of taking it as they ought, what do you think the 
people were about to do 1 Why they prepared to stone Caleb 
and Joshua, and would have killed them ; but just at that mo- 
ment “ the glory of the Lord appeared in the Tabernacle” before 
them all, and so they were afraid of being dreadfully punished 
for their wickedness. 

And, indeed, God resolved that he would punish them, and he 
said to Moses, “ I will smite them with the pestilence, and disin- 
herit them, so that they shall never possess the promised land, 
and I will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they.” 

But Moses pleaded with God. And he said that the Egyptians 
would delight to learn that the people were all destroyed ; and 
the other wicked nations would say that God had brought them 
so far, but could not take them into the land he promised to give 
them ; and, therefore, he prayed that, as God was very long- 
suffering and merciful, he would pardon the people, as he had 
done before when they offended him. 

So God heard the prayer of Moses, for he is a God that hears 
prayer, and he did not cut the people off directly, but he told him 
that none of them should ever enjoy the promised land, since 
they were so mistrustful of him, and only Caleb and Joshua, of 
the whole of them, should have possession in .it-; but having 
given a true report of the land, and trusted him to help them to 
take it, they should have the honour and happiness which the 
rest deserved never to enjoy. 

And Moses and Aaron were commanded of the Lord to tell 
the people, “Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness, and all 
that were numbered of you”— ^that is, when the people were num- 
bered — “ according to your whole number, from twenty years 
old and upwards, which have murmured against me.” And they 
were also to tell them, that Caleb and Joshua were not to die in 
10 





254 : child’s commentator. 

the wilderness, and that the young Israelites should remain wan* 
dering about in the wilderness for forty years, till all their fathers 
were dead ; that is, as many years as the spies were days search- 
ing out the land ; so that they would always remember why it 
was that God kept them so long in the wilderness, because their 
fathers would not trust his word, and were afraid, on the report 
of the spies, of going into the land of Canaan. So they were to 
know God’s “ breach,” or separation from, and punishment of 
them. 

And, that the people might see that God would keep his word, 
he instantly punished the ten spies, who gave so ill a report of 
the promised land; for “they died by the plague before the 
Lord.” 

The next morning, after the people had heard the news, how 
God had resolved to cut them off in the wilderness, and had cut 
off the spies, they were very sorry for what they had done, and 
they resolved to go and take the land. But God had told them 
that they should not, and so this conduct was just as much against 
his pleasure as that they had shown against going up. And 
Moses tried to reason with them, and to stop them, and he told 
them that now they could not prosper : “ Go not up,” said Moses, 
“for the Lord is not among you ; that ye be not smitten before 
your enemies.” 

But away the obstinate people marched up the mountain, by 
the way which the spies had before gone, and “ the Amalekites 
came down, and the Canaanites, which dwelt in that hill, and 
smote them, and discomfited ihem.” So you see that God’s 
threatening was already in part fulfilled; for, by their own head- 
strong foolishness, great numbers, perhaps many thousands, fell 
in this battle, instead of possessing the good land which God had 
promised. 



child’s commentator. 


255 


THE FIFTEENTH CHAPTER OF NUMBERS. 

The Sabbath-breaker Stoned to Death. 

u And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they 
found a man that gathered sticks upon the Sabbath day. 

“ And they that found him gathering sticks, brought him unto 
Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation. 

“ And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what 
should be done to him. 

“ And the Lord said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to 
death ; all the congregation shall stone him with stones with- 
out the camp. 

“ And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and 
stoned him with stones, and he died ; as the Lord commanded 
Moses.” — Vers. 32 — 36. 


After some more laws about sacrifices this chapter tells us the 
sad story just given above. You know that one of the ten com- 
mandments, which God gave to Israel, was, “ Eemember the 
Sabbath day to keep it holy ! — Six days shalt thou labor and do 
all thy w'ork, — but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord 
thy God ; in it thou shalt not do any work.” But, in spite of 
this commandment, here is a man found gathering sticks on the 
Sabbath-day. 

Now, the soul that did anything presumptuously and dared 
God, as it were, to punish sin, that soul was to be cut off from 
among his people. This seemed but a little sin, but it was enough 
to show that the sinner did not care for the commands of God, 
and so he was punished ; for the Lord had expressly said to 
Moses, that he was to tell Israel that every one that defiled the 
Sabbath should surely be put to death. See this in Exodus ; the 
thirty -first chapter, and the twelfth and following verses. 

This offender was seized, taken to the congregation, accused of 
the crime by those who saw him do it, put into prison till Moses 





and Aaron knew what God would have them do with him, and 
then he was brought out, and all the congregation were his exe- 
cutioners, to deter them from doing the like sin, when they saw 
the awful end of the Sabbath-breaker, and had themselves joined 
in putting him to death. 

God does not now punish in such a way ; but the awful end of 
Sabbath-breakers is still sometimes a very striking warning to . 
others. How many take their pleasure on this day, which is to 
be a day of rest from pleasure and business, that we may serve 
God, and mind nothing but our souls ! Children should not, 
then, on the Sabbath, mind any play, nor learn any lessons, but 
such as are to teach them about God and heaven ; or poor chil- 
dren in Mission-schools may spell, that they may be able to read 
their Bibles. 

But to play at marbles or ball, or any other game, or to go out 
bird’s-nesting, or to ramble for pleasure about the fields, among 
Sabbath-breakers, or to go on the water with pleasure-taking par- 
ties, or to go to taverns and beer-gardens on the Lord’s day, is a 
most awful abuse of it, and, if not punished now, will be punish- ifj 
ed at last, if not repented of before God, and pardoned through 
Jesus Christ. How many Sabbath- breakers have been drowned 
by swimming, skating, or sliding, on that day, and how many if 
killed by riding out for their pleasure on that day ! And though 
these accidents happen now and then at other times, yet they are 
not near so common, and those who die by them are not cut off 
in the sin of breaking God’s holy day, which he has set apart for 
his own glory. 

I will tell you a few terrible things which have happened on a 
Sabbath-day, as a warning to Sabbath-breakers. 

Some time ago, when a number of people were assembled 
together in Paris Gardens, to witness a bear-baiting, the scaffold 
on which many of them were standing suddenly broke down, and 
scores of people fell headlong on the ground ; eight were killed 
on the spot, and many more were so injured that their days were 
considerably shortened.” 

“ At Risley, in Bedfordshire, where a great number of people 
met together in a chamber, to see a play, the floor giving way, 



CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 

several of them fell down and expired immediately, and many 
others were severely wounded.” 

“ Fourteen young men, in the winter, on the Lord’s day, were 
playing at foot-ball upon the ice, on the river Trent, near to 
Gainsborough : all meeting together, in a scuffle, the ice suddenly 
broke, and every one of them sunk like lead, and perished in the 
water, no more to profane the Sabbath of the Lord.” 

Had a building fallen, while these unhappy creatures were wor- 
shipping God in sincerity, we might have hoped that they would 
have gone from earth to heaven ; but what reason have we for 
any thing but fear respecting such wilful Sabbath-breakers, that 
they are gone from earth to hell % These examples, my dear 
young friend, should make you dread presumptuously disobeying 
the commands of the Almighty. “ Remember the Sabbath day, 
to keep it holy.” 

The Almighty’s commands are not less for our good than for 
his glory ; for though he has commanded us to keep the Sabbath- 
day, that we may serve him, yet, if we do not, we shall much in- 
jure ourselves. Multitudes, indeed, do not find this out till they 
die, but many do confess it before they die. 

“ Thomas Savage , a youth of about sixteen years of age, exe- 
cuted at Ratcliffe, confessed, at the place of execution, that the 
first sin he began with was Sabbath-breaking.” 

“ Margaret Clark , executed in Surrey, declared that breaking 
the Sabbath was the cause of her ruin, and among her last words 
to the people, when she was going to be executed, were these : — 
“ I desire you all not to spend the Lord’s day idly ; for it was 
Sabbath-breaking that was my first step to this wretchedness.” 

“ John Moores , twenty -two years of age, executed at Chester, 
for breaking into a house and robbing it, said, as he was about to 
be hung, — ‘ My friends, you are come to see a man die. I would 
advise y ou to take warning by me. The first beginning of my 
ruin was Sabbath-breaking ; it led me into bad company ; and 
from bad company to robbing gardens and orchards ; and from 
gardens and orchards, to house-breaking ; and that has brought 
me to this place. Many of you are young ; and I, in an especial 
manner, warn you to beware of Sabbath-breaking.’ ” 




258 


child’s commentator. 


I could tell you of a great number more who have died in tho 
same way, and said the same kind of words. Then, dear young 
reader, let me again warn you, — “ Remember the Sabbath-day to 
keep it holy.” 

Before we finish this chapter, I must beg you to read the thir- 
ty-seventh verse to the end. You will there find an order given 
to the Israelites to put fringe upon their garments. 

The Jews were God’s own peculiar people, and they were thus 
to dress differently from other people, as, you know, they were 
also not to eat all the kinds of food eaten by other people ; and 
these things were always to remind them, and show to others who 
they were — the peculiar people of God. If they were tempted to 
sin with the heathen, they would see, by the fringe on their gar- 
ments, what w r ould make them remember the holy commandments 
w'hich God had given to them, just as a thread tied on our finger 
would make us remember anything which we w r ould not forget. 

We do not wear such garments as the Jew's, but still we must 
always carry in our memories the commandments of God. 


THE SIXTEENTH CHAPTER OF NUMBERS. 

Korah , Dathan , and Abiram, swallowed up. 

“And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and 
their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and 
all their goods. 

“ They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into 
the pit, and the earth closed upon them, and they perished 
from among the congregation.” — Yers. 32, 33. 


Moses, you know, was appointed to be the leader of Israel, and 
Aaron, his brother, to be the High Priest. The tribe of Levi were 
to perform different • services about the Tabernacle, such as pre- 
paring the sacrifices, cleansing the vessels, and many other things, 



CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


259 


mentioned when we noticed the Tabernacle, its furniture, and 
priests. It seems, however, that some of these did not like that 
they should do such things, while Moses and Aaron were placed 
above them. 

So one Korah said all the ill-natured things that he could 
against Moses, and he got Dathan and Abiram, who were some 
chiefs of the tribe of Reuben, to join him, and to rebel against 
the authority of Moses and Aaron. Then they got two hundred 
and fifty princes of the tribes to join them, who, probably, being 
princes or chiefs, were the first-born , and, before Aaron was raised 
to be High Priest, might probably have been priests themselves, 
as the first-born then were, but after that they were so no longer. 
And these told Moses and Aaron that they took too much upon 
them ; for all the congregation were as holy as they, and had an 
equal right to their honours. 

So Moses fell on his face, no doubt to pray to God, and Moses 
then told them to wait till the next day, and then, if Korah and 
the other rebels would take censers, or pans in which incense is 
burned, and offer incense before the Lord, they would see whom 
the Lord approved. 

Having committed the matter to God, Dathan and Abiram 
were, at length, ordered to meet Moses and the people, to make 
the test, but they refused ; and they charged Moses with taking 
them out of so nice a country as Egypt, and with intending to 
kill them, and to enslave the people by cheating them with false 
promises about the good land, and also with a design to put out 
their eyes, as leaders of the opposition against them. 

Moses, though so meek a man, was very wroth, which was 
certainly very wrong, and he suffered for it afterwards, but yet 
to have such false things laid to his charge was very vexing. 

“ And Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company 
before the Lord, thou and they, and Aaron to-morrow ; and take 
every man his censer, and put incense in them, and bring ye be- 
fore the Lord every man his censer, two hundred and fifty cen- 
sers ; thou also, and Aaron, each of you his censer.” So Korah 
and his party presumed to do so, and boldly stood in the door o. 
the Tabernacle with Moses and Aaron. 


\% 



£60 CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 

And God’s glory appeared. And God ordered Moses and 
Aaron to get out of the way, and he would destroy all the con- 
gregation in a moment. And Moses and Aaron, instead of feel- 
ing glad that God would so punish them, did not wish to be re- 
venged, but fell on their faces and prayed to God for them, and 
begged that, as they had been misled by Korah, Dathan, and Abi- 
ram, who were therefore chiefly in fault, that God would spare 
them. So God heard their prayer. And he desired them to tell 
the congregation to come away from about the tents of the re- 
bels, and have nothing to do with them, lest they should be de- 
stroyed with those wicked men. 

So the congregation “ got up from the Tabernacle of Korah, 
Dathan, and Abiram, on every side, and Dathan and Abiram 
came out,” as if to dare Moses and Aaron, and God, by impu- 
dently standing alone, and waiting to see what could be done 
against them ; “ and stood in the door of their tents, and their 
wives, and their sons, and their little children.” 

Then Moses told the people that, if the chief rebels died a 
common death, God had not sent him ; but, if the earth should 
suddenly swallow them up, then they would see that they had 
provoked God, or caused God to act as men do when provoked, 
and to punish his enemies ; for God cannot be provoked as men 
are. 

No sooner had Moses done speaking, than they were all swal- 
lowed up, and all that they had. “ And all Israel, that were 
round about them, fled at the cry of them ; for they said, Lest 
the earth swallow us up also.” 

You see that little children perished here. Perhaps they were 
old enough to take a part in mocking Moses and Aaron, and so 
you may learn that God punishes young sinners as well as old 
ones ; for we are sure that w T hat he did was just. 

Not only did Korah, Dathan, and Abiram perish, but, also, 
“ there came out a fire from the Lord, and consumed the two 
hundred and fifty men that offered incense ;” they were, probably, 
struck dead by lightning. 

Then “ the Lord ordered Moses to tell Eleazar, the son of 
Aaron, to pick up the brass censers of the dead men, to throw 


i 




away the incense, as a token that he rejected their prayers, in- 
cense having been used to represent the sweet breath of prayer 
rising to heaven, — and to make of the censers a covering for the 
altar, by having them beaten out flat and thin. There was, in- 
deed, then, a covering of brass on the altar, which, as it was made 
of wood, needed that to protect it from the heat of the fire that 
was continually burning on it; but these censers, beaten out and 
put again upon the brass, would make the altar still more secure 
from injury, and this covering would ever serve to remind the 
Levites how wicked it was for those to dare to become priests 
whom God had not appointed to be so, and what a dreadful end 
would be likely to befall them who would desire to burn incense, 
when he had' not ordered them. 

And now you will be astonished to learn, that after these 
things — and how long after do you think 1 — wlyr only on the 
4 ; next day— “ All the congregation of Israel murmured against 
If Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of 

i H the Lord.” They charged Moses and Aaron with killing the reb- 

g: els, when God had done it before their eyes ; and they called 

them the people of the Lord, when they had, by their wickedness, 
cut themselves off from him. 

So the glory of the Lord immediately appeared in the cloud 
over the Tabernacle ; for God heard all that this sinful people 
said, — “ And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Get you up 
from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a 
moment : and they fell upon their faces” — as you know they had 
done before, — to humble themselves, and to pray for the people. 

It was very kind in Moses and Aaron to pray for people that 
behaved so badly to them, and so Christ teaches us to pray for 
our enemies, for all those who treat us with spite. 

But the punishment had begun. The plague had seized them ; 
and Moses, perhaps, having heard the people crying out in great 
distress, looked up, and saw them dying in all parts. So he hur- 
ried Aaron away for his censer with holy fire, which* he was to 
take from the altar, and desired him to run in among the people, 
and burn incense, and make an atonement for their sins; “and 
he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was. 



562 


child’s commentator. 


stayed.” But so shocking an offence against God had caused the 
death of no fewer than fourteen thousand seven hundred, besides 
those that died the day before. 

Now, let me tell you, my young friend, that, bad as the 
Israelites were, we are no better before God. Have we not often 
repeated cur offences against him ? Think, if you cannot find out 
many wrong things that you have done since you knew better. 
But Jesus Christ, our kind Saviour, stands between the living 
God and dead sinners. These sinners are not indeed dead in the 
body, but dead as to anything they do to serve God, and dead as 
being under sentence of death for their offences, — a death called 
eternal, because the blessing called “ eternal life” is lost by it. — 
Well, through Christ pleading for us, and asking for forgiveness 
for us, we obtain mercy, and so are saved from the wrath to come. 


THE SEVENTEENTH CHAPTER OF NUMBERS. 

The Wonderf ul Budding of Aaron's Bod. 

“ And it came to pass that on the morrow Moses went into the 
tabernacle of witness ; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the 
house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloom- 
ed blossoms, and yielded almonds.” — Ver. 8. 


You may, perhaps, have seen some persons of different sorts ot 
authority, walking with long staves, peeled white, or painted, or 
gilt ; something of the kind was in use among the princes or 
chiefs of the tribes of Israel ; you know there were twelve tribes, 
and so among them there were twelve rods belonging to their 
twelve princes. 

Well, God told Moses that he would now work a miracle ; that 
is to say, he would do something so out of the usual order of things, 
that he would so strongly convince Israel that he had chosen 
Aaron for his priest, that they should rebel no more on that account. 




AARON’S ROD THAT BUDDED. 


KORAH. DATHAN, AND ABIRAM SWALLOWED UP 















So he ordered Moses to get the twelve rods of the tribes, which 
were merely twelve dry sticks, and “ to lay them up in the tab- 
ernacle of the congregation before the testimony,” meaning the 
ark, in which the testimony or tables of the law were kept, and 
that man whose rod should blossom should be his priest. 

Now, the rod of the tribe of Levi was marked with Aaron’s 
name ; and, after the rods had been laid up for a night, on the 
morrow Moses went into the Tabernacle, and “ behold the rod ol 
Aaron, for the house of Levi, was budded, and brought forth 
buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds.” This was 
wonderful — wonderful that a dry.stick should bud, and still more 
wonderful that the same rod should bear buds, and blossoms, and 
fruit, at the same time ! 

Then Moses brought out all the rods which all the priests took, 
as they could easily know their own by having their names on 
them, and Aaron’s wonderful rod was shown to the people. When 
they saw this rod, they were sadly frightened, and feared that 
they were all going to be punished with death, for having rebel- 
led so against God, who now more plainly than ever gave honour 
to Aaron. God, however, did not punish them any further ; but 
the rod was preserved in the ark for ages, still with its buds and 
blossoms, and fruit, and there it remained in remembrance of the 
rebellion of Israel, and of God’s choosing Aaron. 


THE EIGHTEENTH CHAPTER OF NUMBERS. 

Provisions for the Priests and Levites. 

“Every thing devoted in Israel shall be thine.” — Ver. 14. 


God having fixed Aaron in his office, and now showed to all 
the people that he would have him for his high priest, to atone 
for the people, he gave him very solemn orders to do his work 
and for the Levites to do theirs. And he told Aaron that he and 





THE NINETEENTH CHAPTER OF NUMBERS. 


The Red Heifer . 


r< And a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, 
and lay them up without the camp in a clean place, and it 
shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for 
a water of separation : it is a purification for sin.” — Ver. 9 , 


My dear reader, there were a great many customs, under the 
law, to explain which would take up too much room in this work. 

But not a few of them were meant to show us, as in a glass, that 
we are sinners in the sight of God, and that, as sin is a defiling 
thing, we must not only be pardoned, but also purified. The law I 

of the red heifer was of this kind. You may read the whole of | 

it from the second to the tenth verse. ( 

The heifer, you know, is a young cow. This animal was to be 3 
red, which being, a scarce colour, was the most precious. It was 
to have no spot, a sign of purity. It was to be slain without the j 
camp, as though it were impure; for impure things were carried 
without the camp. The blood was to be sprinkled before the 
door of the Taberrjacle, to have the virtue of a sacrifice, and, by 
being- sprinkled seven times, it meant a perfect sacrifice ; for seven 
times was the number of the days in which God made all things, 
and was always considered, on that account, as a sign of perfec- 
tion. This heifer was, also, wholly burnt, and the ashes were to 
be laid up for the use of the congregation, as they might be need- 
ed, to mix with the water of purification, when any one who w'as 
defiled needed cleansing. 

I must here repeat a passage I named to you before, which is 
in the Epistle of the Hebrews, and which, at once, shows you the 
meaning of all this ceremony ; “ Eor if the blood of bulls and of 
goats, and the ashes, of an heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifi- 
eth to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood 
of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit, offered himself, without 



268 



CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 

spot, to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the 
living God !” 

Here, then, you see, that the “ heifer” was meant to signify 
Jesus Christ ; the burning of the heifer showed the cruel death of 
Jesus Christ; the unclean was meant to signify the sinner ; and 
the sprinkling of the unclean with the water, mixed with the 
ashes of the heifer, the applying of the benefits of Christ’s pre- 
cious blood, to take away the defilement of the soul by sin. 

From the eleventh to the last verse, you may see how great is 
the defilement of sin. He that touched a dead body, or went 
into the tent where there was one, was unclean, and must be kept 
separate from the people. This was to show that we defile our- 
selves if we mingle with those that are wicked, who are called 
“ dead in trespasses and sins.” Whenever the Jews were de- 
filed, and were separated, the ashes of the heifer, in water, called 
on that account “ the water of separation,” were to be sprinkled 
upon them, and, if they were not, he, the defiled, was to be cut 
off from the people ; and as we daily sin, and so defile ourselves, 
we must daily look through our minds to the blood of Christ, to 
cleanse us from all sin. 


THE TWENTIETH CHAPTER OF NUMBERS. 

Moses smites a second Rock for Water. 


“ And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the 
rock twice ; and the water came out abundantly, and the con- 
gregation drank, and their beasts also.” — Ver. 11. 


The waters out of the rock of Rephidim, of which you read in 
the seventeenth chapter of Exodus, had hitherto followed Israel 
in a stream through the wilderness. They were now stopped, 
perhaps to try if the new race of Israelites would show a better 
spirit than their fathers did under the like difficulty ; for their 




CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


269 


fathers were nearly all dead, as God had threatened, and this was 
now the fortieth year of their travels about the wilderness. 

However, just as their fathers murmured, so did these children 
of Israel ; and they gathered themselves together against Moses 
and Aaron. And the people chode with Moses, or quarrelled 
with him, and spake, saying, “ Would God that we had died when 
oui brethren died before the Lord ;” for they thought it a much 
easier death to die as those did who were probably killed by 
lightning, or those fourteen thousand seven hundred, who died by 
pestilence, than it was to die of fatigue and thirst. 

They went on murmuring in more of the same sort of lan- 
guage, as you may read in the chapter. 

Moses and Aaron humbled themselves before God, and prayed 
to him as they had often done at other times. 

In answer to their prayer, the Lord again appeared in the 
cloud. And Moses was ordered to take his rod and to speak to 
the rock, which, as God commanded it by Moses, should obey its 
Creator, and give the people water. 

So Moses called the people before the rock, and he said unto 
them, “ Hear now, ye rebels ; must we fetch you water out of 
this rock V 1 

Do not you see that Moses said what was very wrong here 1 
He said, “ Must we fetch you water out of this rock ?” as though 
he and Aaron could do it without God’s order. How foolish, 
and humbled, and disgraced he would have been, if God had let 
him smite the rock in vain ! God did not, however, disappoint 
him ; he gave the water as he had promised, but he said, “ Be- 
cause ye believed me not, to sanctify me,” or set apart and show 
my honour, before “ the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore 
ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have 
given them.” 

In this chapter we learn that Miriam, the sister of Moses and 
Aaron, died at Kadesh. 

And Aaron being stripped of his garments, which were given 
to his son Eleazar, at the command of God, went up with Moses 
to the top of Mount Hor, where he died ; for God said, “ Aaron 
6hall be gathered unto his people ; for he shall not enter into the 



child’s commentator. 


270 

land which I have given unto the children of Israel, because ye 
rebelled against my word at the water of Meribah.” 

“ And, when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, 
they mourned for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel.” 

There is one thing more to be noticed in this chapter : — Moses 
sent messengers from Kadesh unto the king of Edom, to ask him 
for leave to go through a little part of his kingdom, to prevent 
him from going a great way round to get into Canaan ; and he 
told him that nothing should be touched, not even water without 
leave, or being paid for : but the king would not let him pass 
through, for which God afterwards remembered his unkindness ; 
however, the Israelites turned away, and did not quarrel with the 
Edomites. 

You remember that the Edomites sprung from Esau, and this 
is the reason why Moses began his message with saying, “ Thy 
brother Israel !” 


THE TWENTY-FIRST CHAPTER OF NUMBERS. 

The first Battles of the Israelites and Canaanites. — The Brazen 
Serpent. 

“ And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and 
it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he 
beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.” — Ver. 9. 


This chapter tells us about some wars between the Israelites 
and the Canaanites. 

King Arad, or the king of Arad, a Canaanite, having heard that 
Moses was marching near him, was afraid of so large an army, 
and so he gathered his armies and fought against Israel, and took 
some prisoners. But Israel prayed to God for help, and he heard 
their prayer, and they beat their enemies ; and as they were idol- 
aters, according to the designs of God that they should be cut off 
from the earth, the Israelites, as their appointed executioners, 



g 


wholly destroyed them and their cities : though, as we read ol 
Arad in the book of Joshua, their final destruction did not happen 
till after this time. 

Soon after this the Israelites asked leave of Sihon, king of the 
Amorites, to go through his country ; and they said, “We will 
not turn into the fields, or into the vineyards ; we will not drink 
of the waters of the well ; but we will go along by the king’s 
highway, until we be past thy borders,” or out of thy country. 

“ And Sihon would not suffer Israel to pass through his border : 
but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against 
Israel into the wilderness: and he came to Jahaz and fought 
against Israel.” And Israel beat Sihon as they had Arad, and 
took possession of his land. 

The Israelites then turned and went up by the way of Bashan ; 
“ which was a nearer way to Canaan, a fine country, abounding 
with oxen and sheep, having rich pastures, and very famous for 
its oaks.” Og the king was a giant, or a man who was very tall 
indeed, and very strong ; and he and all his people went out 
against Israel, “to the battle at Edrei,” which was a famous city 
of Arabia. 

And God encouraged Moses, and he likewise conquered king 
Og, and he took all his land. 

We have besides in this chapter two remarkable songs. One 
was sung by the Israelites over a well. In the country where the 
Israelites travelled, travellers are often in great want of water ; 
for the earth for a very great number of miles is often covered 
with sand, very deep and very hot from the sun. When man and 
beast are weary and thirsty, nothing gives so much delight as the 
sight of water. The people of Israel again wanted water. God 
promised to give it, even before they needed it ; and so he kindly 
saved them from murmuring and provoking him about it, as they 
had done before. So Moses, at God’s command, gathered the 
people together where the water was to be found, and the princes 
and nobles, by the direction of Moses, their lawgiver, dug up 
or moved the sand away with the end of their staves, and the 
water flowed out, and the place was called Beer , or, as that word 
signified in their language, the well. 


i 



The people then stood round the well, and, as we ought always 
to praise God for our comforts, they sang a song of praise, which 
you may read in the seventeenth and eighteenth verses, as you 
will now easily understand their meaning. 

The other song in this chapter is one that was made by the 
heathen, in honour of Sihon king of the Amorites ; and tells us, 
how he fought against Moab, and took from Moab a great deal 
of that country which Moses now took from him. 

But the most remarkable thing in this chapter is the account 
of the Brazen Serpent. We find Israel murmuring as usual, about 
having neither bread nor water, and they seemed never to trust 
in God but just at the moment when they saw his miracles. This 
was very wicked ; for he had promised to take care of them, and 
they ought to have believed his word ; and he has promised that 
if we love him, he will also take care of us : let us then be afraid 
of being as wicked as they, and murmuring at our lot, when all 
things are not quite so pleasant as we would like to have them. 

The Lord did not now kill the people by lightning, or pesti- 
lence, or the sword of their enemies ; but he showed that he could 
do it by many ways, if they continued to rebel against him. 

“ And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they 
bit the people ; and much people of Israel died that is, he sent 
serpents, whose bite was like fire, making a similar wound for 
pain with that which a burning coal would make. Serpents of 
this sort are still found in those parts ; but God doubtless made 
a great many more than usual, to bite this murmuring congrega- 
tion. And this was a punishment that taught them to see and 
remember that it was for their crime ; for, as they had murmured 
about water, the burning bites of these animals caused the most 
cruel thirst, and, without very speedy help, all that were bitten 
of them must die, so you find great numbers did perish. 

Then the people repented and prayed. “ And the Lord said 
unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole ; 
and it shall come to pass that every one that is bitten, when he 
looketh upon it, shall live.” 

This was an odd remedy ; but it would try the sincerity of the 
repentance and faith of the people ; it would show if they were 


1 


273 



child’s commentator. 


now ready to trust God by looking at it, and, if they were cured, 
they would know that God had sent the fiery serpents, and that 
the cure was not done by the serpent, but by him. 

This serpent had, however, a very important meaning conceal- 
ed under it, and was a sign of the salvation w r hich a poor sinner 
obtains who looks in his mind, or by faith as it is called, to Jesus 
Christ, who is given to be the Saviour of sinners. The soul is 
bitten, as it were, by the serpent sin, and, if not cured, it must 
perish for ever: but Jesus Christ said, “As Moses lifted up the 
serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted 
up : that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have 
everlasting life.” 




THE TWENTY-SECOND CHAPTER OF NUMBERS. 

Balaam and his Ass. 

“ And the Angel of the Lord said unto him, Wherefore hast thou 
smitten thine ass these three times % behold, I went out to 
withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me. 

* And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times : 
unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain 
thee, and saved her alive.” — Vers. 32, 33. 


The Israelites now pitched their tents “ in the plains of Moab.” 
And as the Amorites had been conquered by them and King Og 
and his sons, and all his people slain, Balak the king of Moab 
was terribly frightened, and the Moabites thought that the Israel- 
ites would “ lick” them all up, or destroy them as easily a$ the 
ox does the grass in the field. 

So what did Balak do, but sent to Balaam, a famous conjuror, 
who lived at a place called Pethor. Th's man pretended to di- 
vine, or to know secret things, and it was thought, could, by 
cursing anybody, do him he cursed great harm. However, as he 



child’s commentator. 


274 

did nothing without money, the king sent some to him by the 
elders or princes of Moab and of Midian. 

If this man had cursed Israel, he could have done them no 
harm, but God was so tender of the honour of his people, that he 
would not allow him even to do this in appearance, and he made 
him hesitate in his mind what to do. 

So Balaam begged the messengers to wait for a night and 
lodge with him ; and then God said to Balaam, perhaps in a 
dream, “ Thou shalt not curse the people, for they are blessed.” 

And in the morning, Balaam told the princes of Balak, that 
God would not let him go ; and they went and told the king that 
Balaam refused to go with them to curse Israel. 

Now, as Balaam did not tell the princes that he was not per 
mitted by the Lord to curse Israel, but only that the Lord re- 
fused to let him go to Balak, and as the princes told Balak nothing 
about God’s interference, but only that Baalam would not go, 
the king thought he would try Balaam again. Perhaps, had he 
known that Israel’s renowned God had interfered, he would have 
been afraid to try any more. 

And now he fancied that, perhaps, he had not paid respect 
enough to Balaam. So he sent some princes to him, higher in 
rank than the first, and they told Balaam that if he would curse 
Israel he should be promoted to great honour. Balaam, how- 
ever, said, that if Balak would give him a house full of silver and 
gold, he. could only do what God should bid him. So he begged 
them to stop for a night, as he did the former messengers, that 
he might again know what he should do. 

Now Balaam was not a good man, but “ loved the wages of 
unrighteousness,” and would have been glad to have had Balak’s 
offered honours and money ; but you see how God has the hearts 
of all men in his hand, and Balaam could do nothing to hurt, or 
even cast seeming disgrace upon Israel, without God’s permission. 

When the morning was come, God told him to go with the 
messengers, and so he saddled his ass and rode off. In this 
country it is not usual for rich people to ride upon asses, but in 
those times and in the countries spoken of, there were beautiful 
asses, on which the most distinguished persons rode. 






child’s C0MMEN1 ATOR. 275 

Nothing could be more plain, than that Balaam wished to go 
to Balak and to get his rewards, or he would not have delayed 
the messengers a second time, when he remembered what God 
had before told him ; and though God told him to go if the men 
called him, yet he went without being called, which proved that 
he was quite ready to find any w r ay to get out of his restraint. 

So “ God’s anger was kindled,” because Balaam went ; “ and 
the Angel of the Lord stood in the way for an adversary against 
him.” 

An angel is a spirit, and has not flesh and blood as we have. 
In those times the angels of the Lord often appeared for Israel, 
but God does not interfere for his people in the same way now,* 
though his care is still shown towards them. Neither Balaam 
nor his two servants that were with him saw the angel. But we 
read, “ And the ass saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the 
way, and his sword drawn in his hand ; and the ass turned aside 
out of the way, and went into the field ; and Balaam smote the 
ass, to turn her into the way. But the Angel of the Lord stood 
in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall 
on that side,” so that there was no going out into the field, as 
before, to avoid the Angel, with a stone wall on each side of the 
path. “ And when the ass saw the Angel of the Lord, she thrust 
herself unto the wall, and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall : 
and he smote her again. And the Angel of the Lord went further, 
and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn, either to 
the right hand or to the left.” And when the ass saw the Angel or 
the Lord, once more, “ she fell down under Balaam, and Balaam’s 
anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff. And the 
Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, 
What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these 
three times ] And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast 
mocked me ; I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now 
would I kill thee. And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine 
ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this 
day ? was I ever wont to do so unto thee ? And he said, Nay. 
Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the Angel 
of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his 



DlYe 


276 


child’s commentator. 


hand ; and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face.” 
And then the Angel said to him the words which you have read 
at the beginning of this history. 

There are two wonderful things here, besides the appearance of 
the Angel : that the ass should see the Angel when Balaam could 
not, and that a creature made without the power to speak, should 
open his mouth and reprove Balaam. But the Lord who after- 
wards opened the eyes of Balaam, could as easily open the eyes 
of the ass ; and as the ass did not speak of himself, which would, 
indeed, have puzzled us, but only as the Lord opened his mouth, 
we know that “ with God all things are possible.” 

After the Angel had reproved Balaam, he was sorry that he 
had beaten the ass, and offered to go back again, if the Angel 
wished. 

However, seeing that Balaam had evidently a great longing 
to go, he said he might, but he was to take care what he said. 
“ So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.” 

As soon as Balak heard that Balaam was come, he went out to 
meet him, being both eager to see him and desirous of paying 
him honour ; however, Balaam told him that he could say no- 
thing but what God should permit. 

And then Balak offered oxen and sheep in sacrifice to his idols, 
that he might be successful in cursing Israel ; and on the day fol- 
lowing he took Balaam into the high places of Baal, where altars 
were built to the idol so named, and where, from a great height, 
he might see all the people of Israel as they were encamped be- 
neath, and so pronounce a curse against them. 



child’s commentator. 277 


THE TWENTY-THIRD AND TWENTY-FOURTH CHAPTERS OF NUMBERS. 


Balak disappointed in cursing Israel. 


“ And Balak said unto Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor 
bless them at all. 

“ But Balaam answered and said unto Balak, Told not I thee, 
saying, All that the Lord speaketh that I must do ?” — Chap, 
xxiii. 25, 26. 


When Balak and Balaam got upon the high places, Balaam 
desired Balak to build him seven altars, and prepare him seven 
oxen and seven rams. And he told Balak to wait by his sacri- 
i fice while he went alone to another high place, to see if God 
would say anything more to him. 

3 And there God met Balaam in some wonderful way, and 
t Balaam boasted that he had now built his altars, and offered his 

|| sacrifices, not to idols, but to God himself. But “ the sacrifice 

I of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,” and he could still 

I get no leave to curse Israel, for though he would have been glad 

to please Balak, yet God put a restraint upon his spirit and his 
mouth, and he was obliged to speak what God told him. 

So he went back to Balak and took up his parable or speech, 
and he said, “ How shall I curse whom God hath not cursed V ’ 
And then he foretold that the people should “ dwell alone,” and 
the Jews have been a people separate from all other people to 
this day, though it was more than three thousand years ago when 
Balaam spoke the prophecy. And he said that their numbers 
should be very great, which came to pass ; and he told of their 
happiness, and no people on the face of the earth had more rea- 
son to be happy, as long as they served God with all their heart. 

Then Balak was very angry and said unto Balaam, “ What 
hast thou done unto me ? I took thee to curse mine enemies, 
and, behold, thou hast blessed them altogether.” 

However, he thought he would try another place, where 



278 


child’s commentator. 


Balaam would see only a small part of the people, and that per 
haps he would then think less of them. 

. “ And he brought him into the field of Zophim, to the top of 
Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered,” as he had done be- 
fore. Then Balaam retired again, to see if God would speak to 
him. And on his return, Balak asked him about what he had 
heard. And he said to Balak, “ Behold, I have received com 
mandment to bless ; and he (God) hath blessed, and I cannot re- 
verse it.” He told him God could not lie or change ; that he saw 
no iniquity in his people Israel, meaning not any that he would 
punish by cursing them, &r God often saw iniquity in them, and 
chastised them for it. He assured him that they were as strong 
as the unicorn, meaning not the horned horse, which you see with 
a lion, in the King’s coat of arms, and which is all a fancy, but a 
beast called the rhinoceros, which is wonderfully strong. He de- 
clared that no schemes of his could do Israel any harm, and that, 
as a courageous lion would eat of his prey, and drink the blood 
of the slain, so Israel should eat all their enemies. 

Balak, still more vexed than before, then cried out, “ Neither 
curse them at all, nor bless them at all.” 

Yet he wished to try once more if Balaam could not get leave 
to curse Israel, and so he took him to the top of Peor, a high 
mountain in Moab, and sacrificed again as before. 

But Balaam saw that all his enchantments were useless, and 
he waited on the spot to see what God would now do. 

And the Spirit of God came upon him, and opened the eyes 
of his mind, and he prophesied about Israel. And he foretold 
their prosperity, by comparing them to well-watered gardens by 
the water side, and to a flourishing tree which grew tall with 
large leaves at the top, and that without a gardener’s aid, the 
providence of God alone making it grow ; and also to cedar trees, 
which were famous for height and grandeur. 

He said also, that Israel should pour water out of his buckets, 
by which he meant again, that the nation should flourish, as this 
was a way of watering the land to make its fruits grow ; and he 
spoke of the chief of Israel becoming higher and greater than 
Agag the king of the Amalekites, who was then one of the great- 


279 



child's commentator. 

est kings in the world. And he further spoke as before, about 
their overcoming their enemies, like as a lion overcomes his prey. 

Then Balak could no longer contain his anger, “ and he smote 
his hands together;” and he “ said unto Balaam, I called thee to 
curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed 
them these last three times.” And he sent Balaam away. Balaam, 
however, stopped to go on with his prophecy, and he foretold the 
distant conquest of Moab and Edom, and the ruin of Amalek, and 
the wasting of the Kenites, and other great events that should 
take place, and did happen in after times, as God had told him. 

Thus you see how God protected Israel from the malice and 
craft of theii enemies, and would not suffer them to receive any 
harm. 


THE TWENTY-FIFTH CHAPTER OF NUMBERS TO THE END OF THE BOOK. 


Various Events a little before the Death of Moses. 

“These are the commandments and the judgments which the 
Lord commanded, by the hand of Moses, unto the children of 
Israel, in the plains of Moab, by Jordan, near Jericho.” — 
Chap, xxxvi. 13. 


5M 


I 


We shall now pass on to the end of Numbers, and merely 
glance, as we pass, at what the other chapters contain. 

In the twenty-fifth , we find Israel drawn aside to commit idola- 
try with the Moabites. 

And God ordered Moses to hang all the ringleaders, and the 
judges to slay all the rest of the offenders. And a plague broke 
out in the camp, and slew twenty-four thousand persons. These 
probably had some hand in the business, by consenting or coun 
selling the other offenders, and so God visited them also. 

Some think there is reason to believe that Balaam advised the 
Moabites to propose marriages with the Israelites, and as it was 
against the command of God that such marriages should take 
place, the Israelites that were guilty of breaking his command 



280 


child’s commentator. 


ment, did very wickedly. And this was a wise command ; for 
supposing your parents were divided in opinion, and one wor 
shipped God, and the other were stupid enough to worship that 
ugly thing worshipped by the Hindoos, of which a representation 
has been given in treating on the thirty-first chapter of Genesis, 
— perhaps you would be in danger of being taught to worship it 
too, and so you would be ruined by God’s displeasure, as well as 
your parents. Besides, those that love God truly, can never 
agree to live all their days with those that show they hate him. 

One Zimri, the son of a chief, had, as some think, married a 
Midianitish princess, who worshipped the false gods of Moab, and 
he had the audacity to take her to his tent in the presence of the 
people, who were weeping before God on account of the sins 
which their brethren had committed. 

Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and grandson of Aaron, 
seeing this audacious act of breaking God’s law, instantly acted 
as magistrate on this occasion, and put God’s commandment into 
execution, by putting the criminal and the princess to death. As 
this was not an act of private revenge, which would have been 
murder, but zeal for God’s glory, and in obedience to his law, 
God was pleased with Phinehas, and promised to bless him for 
what he had done ; and, on account of it, he stayed the plague. 

As God had punished the Israelites, he visited also the Midi- 
anites, and commanded Moses to smite them, that they might 
not any more lead Israel astray into idolatry. 

And God ordered Moses and Eleazar to number the people of 
Israel ; and they found that they were “ six hundred thousand, 
and a thousand seven hundred and thirty,” that is, as we should 
say, six hundred and one thousand seven hundred and thirty, who 
were twenty years old and upwards, all fit for war, besides 
twenty-three thousand Levites for the service of the Temple. 

“But among these, there was not a man of them whom 
Moses and Aaron the priest numbered, when they numbered the 
children of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai : for the Lord had 
said of them, They shall surely die in the wilderness. And there 
was not left a man of them, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, 
and Joshua the son of Nun.” 


child’s commentator. 


281 


See how God fulfils his threatenings against sinners. You re- 
member that all those that were numbered at Mount Sinai, the 
first year after Israel came out of Egypt, rebelled against God ; 
and he declared that they should wander in the wilderness, but 
never enter Canaan, and so it came to pass. O then let us obey 
his commands, lest he swear in his wrath, that we shall never 
enter into his rest. 

This numbering is related in the twenty-sixth chapter. 

In the twenty-seventh , we have an account of the five daughters 
of Zelophehad, whose father having died in the wilderness, and 
left no son, were unprovided for in the promised land of Canaan, 
and they asked permission to take his share, that his name might 
not be blotted out, and forgotten ; and in so doing they showed 
that they firmly believed in what God had said by his servants — 
that he would give Canaan to Israel. So God granted them their 
request ; and ever after it was a law in Israel, that if a man died 
and had no son, then his daughter came in for the inheritance. 

In this chapter we also learn that God told Moses to prepare 
for death. He was to go up to “ Mount Ibarim and see the 
land,” which God had given to Israel, but he was never to enter 
it, for you remember that he offended God, by his anger and 
haughtiness, when he smote the rock at Meribah. It was, how- 
ever, a favour to see the land, and though he was shut out of 
that, as he had been a faithful servant of God, he would not be 
shut out for ever from the presence and favour of God, which 
was a better portion than the earthly Canaan. 

Moses, still concerned for Israel, now prayed God to appoint 
another captain, who should still lead them in safety ; and God 
put his spirit in Joshua, and Moses at his command appointed 
him to be leader before all the people. 

As the people were now a new generation, Moses was com- 
manded to repeat to them all the laws about making offerings 
and feasts ; and these are therefore given again, in the twenty- 
eighth and twenty-ninth chapters ; and in the thirtieth chapter are 
laws to be observed in making vows or promises of anything to 
be given to God. 

In the chapter following, Moses, at God’s command, makes war 



282 child’s commentator. 


upon the Midianit.es, by sending out a thousand men of ever} 
tribe against them, that is to say, twelve thousand men : and Phi- 
nehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, went to the war with the 
holy instruments, and the trumpets to blow, in his hand. 

And they slew all the men, and five kings of Midian, and Ba- 
laam the conjuror, who was there. And they took the women 
and children prisoners, and also all their cattle and goods. 

And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the 
congregation of Israel, went out to meet the conquerors on their 
return ; but when Moses saw they had brought the women with 
them, “ he was wroth with the officers of the host,” for through 
the counsel of Balaam, the women had before caused Israel to 
sin, and drawn them aside to idolatry. 

So Moses ordered every boy, and every woman to be put to 
death, but the female children, and the metals, with everything 
that passes through fire to be purified, were preserved. 

This seemed very severe ; but God commanded Moses, and 
“shall not the Judge of all the earth do right]” The women, 
had they lived, would have made Israel to sin ; and the boys, 
had they grown up to be men, would have avenged the deaths 
of their wicked fathers and mothers ; and so God had them slain. 
O, if God so punished hardened sinners here, what will be their 
punishment in the world to come ! 

Then God commanded a tribute to be paid to him, out of the 
-prey taken by the conquerors. And well might they make him 
an offering of thanksgiving ; for on mustering the men, not one 
man was lacking, or had been lost, though a whole nation had 
been so completely beaten, and all their cities destroyed. 

And the officers collected jewels and gold, to the amount of 
nearly eight thousand ounces ; and Moses and Eleazar laid them 
up in the Tabernacle, as a memorial, “ or remembrance, for the 
children of Israel before the Lord.” So ought we always to bear 
in mind God’s kindness towards us, and our merciful escapes 
from danger. 

In the thirty-second chapter we have an account of the first 
settlement made by the Israelites, after their long journey through 
the wilderness. The tents of Israel were now pitched in the plains 


child’s commentator. 283 

of Moab, where they had been for some months. The land of 
Sihon, king of the Amorites, and of Og, king of Bashan, remain- 
ed unoccupied, though conquered by Israel. These lands were 
fine pasture lands for cattle, and as the children of Reuben and 
Gad had a very great multitude of cattle, they asked leave of 
Moses to possess them, instead of having any share in Canaan, 
or the other side of Jordan. 

Moses suspected that they were indolent and cowardly, and 
wanted to escape any danger in conquering Canaan, so he reproved 
them, and told them how God had punished their fathers for such 
a spirit. But they assured him that he had mistaken their inten- 
tions, for all they wanted was to leave their little ones, and their 
wives, and their flocks, and their cattle, and they were ready to go 
themselves and assist their brethren in getting their possessions. 

So when Moses saw that their designs were fair, he gave them 
what they wished, on their promising to do as they had said. 

“And Moses gave unto them, even to the children of Gad, and 
to the children of Reuben, and unto half the tribe of Manasseh 
the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon, king of the Amorites, 
and the kingdom of Og, king of Bashan, the land with the cities 
thereof, in the coasts, even the cities of the country round 
about.” And they built sheep-folds for their cattle, and they re- 
built the cities which w'ere in a ruinous state from the wars ; and 
in this way it happened that a part of Israel lived out of Canaan, 
on the other side of Jordan. 

In the thirty -third chapter is a history of the removals and en- 
campments of the children of Israel, from the time they left 
Egypt till they entered into Canaan, forty-two in all, and the 
chapter ends with a command from God to Moses, to tell the 
children of Israel to destroy all the idolatrous people of Canaan, 
and take possession of their land. 

In the thirty-fourth chapter God marks out the limits of the 
promised land. 

In the thirty- fifth the children are commanded not to forget to 
give a possession to the Levites, who were their ministers to per- 
form religious service. These were to have forty-eight cities, six 
of which were to be cities of refuge, where any person who had 


j 



234 


child's commentator. 


accidentally killed another might flee, to escape being slain, and 
to have a fair trial of his guilt or innocence. 

For if any man killed another, the nearest relation of the per- 
son who was killed, pursued the murderer and put him to death. 
If, then, a man knew that upon trial he could prove that he had 
not wilfully killed the person whose life he had unfortunately 
happened to take away, he could hasten to tne City of Refuge ; 
but if he did not, and the avenger of blood overtook him, his 
blood was upon his own head, because he had neglected to save 
himself as God had appointed. The meaning of this I shall soon 
explain to you. 

The thirty-sixth chapter settles something more about the 
daughters of Zelophehad, that they should marry only in the tribe 
of Manasseh, to which they belonged, so that their inheritance 
should not go from their father’s family into any other tribe. 

Thus ends the book of Numbers, containing some most inter- 
esting accounts of the perverseness of the Israelites, and the faith- 
fulness and goodness of God towards that wonderful nation. 



'xmzuc»£> mrp pjqg einnow 











SAMARIA AND MOUNT QER1ZIM. 















DEUTERONOMY, 

WHICH MEANS 

A REPEATING OF THE LAW. 


In this book Moses repeats the laws which God had before 
given ; for the old Israelites, to whom they were first spoken, 
were all dead in the wilderness, and as the young Israelites were 
now about to have Canaan, they were to be taught what God 
expected from them if they were allowed to possess it. 


THE FIRST TO THE TWENTIETH CHAPTER OF DEUTERONOMY 

Laws for the Israelites , about Cities of Refuge — Holy Scriptures 
—The cruel Idol Moloch — Conjurors — Landmarks. 

« On this side Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to de- 
clare this law.” — Chap. i. 5. 


In the first chapters of this book Moses told the Israelites, what 
I dare say you will now remember, how that God had told them 
to go and possess the land of Canaan, and how they had mur- 
mured when the ten, out of the twelve spies, brought them a bad 
report of the land, and how that God said, “ Surely there shall 
not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land, 
which I sware (or promised) to give unto your fathers ; save Ca- 


288 CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 

leb the son of Jephunneh, he shall see it, and to him will I give 
the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because 
he hath wholly followed the Lord.” And how the Araorites 
chased them as bees, and destroyed them for being disobedient 
to God. And then he told them the story of the Edomites, and 
of Og, the king of Bashan ; and of Sihon, the king of the Amorites ; 
and about their first conquests, and their being given to the Reu- 
benites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh. And 
also, how God had chosen Joshua to be their leader into Canaan. 
You can read all these things in the first three chapters of Deuter- 
onomy ; they are very interesting, and will refresh your memory ; 
they may properly be called An Abridgment of the Travels of the 
Israelites in the Wilderness. 

There is one thing which Moses mentions, and which is not 
before noticed. It is the bedstead of Og, the king of Bashan, from 
which it is guessed what a big man he must have been. You read 
of it in the third chapter. “ For only Og, king of Bashan, re- 
mained of the remnant of the giants ; behold, his bedstead was a 
bedstead of iron : is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon V 1 
Rabbath was a city in which the kings of the Ammonites lived. 
“ Nine cubits was the length thereof,” that is, about four yards 
and a half long, or more than twice as long as one of our tallest 
soldiers ; “ and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a 
man,” or the measurement of a cubit from a man’s elbow to the 
end of his middle finger, which would make the bedstead about 
two yards broad, or about the length of a tall man. No wonder 
that Og wanted an iron bedstead, such a man’s weight would 
have broken down some of our wooden ones. From the length 
of his bedstead it is supposed that he must have been eleven feet 
high, which is as tall again as a common-sized man. This was a 
frightful foe to meet in battle, for warriors did not then fight at a 
distance with powder and ball, as they do now, but only with 
spears, and bows and arrows : yet the Israelites, encouraged by 
their God, slew him, and though he had sixty strong walled cities , 
and perhaps many tall men in them, as the people seem to have 
been of large stature, — they easily took their cities too, for God 
was with them. 


CHILD 6 COMMENTATOR. 


289 


In the fourth chapter Moses strongly exhorts the people to 
serve God and keep from idolatry. And then we learn that he 
“ severed three cities on this side Jordan, toward the sun-rising 
that the slayer might flee thither, which should kill his neighbour 
unawares, and hated him not in time past ; and that fleeing untc 
one of these cities he might live. Namely, Bezer in the wilder- 
ness, in the plain country of the Reubenites ; and Ramoth in 
Gilead, of the Gadites ; and Golan in Bashan, of the Manassites.” 

The roads to these cities of refuge were always kept in good 
repair, that the man-slayer might get easily to them, if he had 
killed any one by accident ; and there were posts, like our hand- 
posts at the corner of our roads, to show the way, that no one 
might lose a moment by being at a stand to know which road to 
take, and on these posts were the words, in large letters, Refuge, 
Refuge. The man that fled thither was tried, .and if a murderer, 
he was executed ; but if guilty of manslaughter, or killing a man 
by accident, he lived in the city till the High Priest died, when 
he was allowed to go home again. 

But why was he to live there till the High Priest died ? There, 
my young reader, is the grand meaning of this striking law. You 
have been told that a great deal that happened to the Israelites 
was to shadow or set forth as by a picture or resemblance, the 
future spiritual things in the gospel of Christ. Now the wrath 
of God is threatened against all sinners, who are in danger of 
ruin as the man-slayer, who could only be protected by running 
into the city of refuge. Christ is appointed for us to flee to 
him for salvation. To him then the trembling simmer must 
“ flee from the wrath to come.” The waj is free and open, and 
if we “ flee for refuge to lay hold on the hope” here set before 
us, we shall never perish but have everlasting life. This is the 
meaning of the city of refuge. May you learn, as a sinner against 
God, to make haste thither, and, by trusting the salvation of 
your soul to Jesus, be saved from ruin, when God shall judge 
and condemn the wicked world; and as the manslayer was free 
to go where he would at the death of the High Priest, so the 
sinner, because of the death of Christ, the great High Priest, 
is free from the curse of the law if he trusts in Him. 


290 



child’s commentator. 

Moses goes on to repeat the Ten Commandments, and what 
happened at Sinai when God gave them. And he tells the peo- 
ple particularly to love and serve God that it may be well with 
them. And he does not forget the little children, for he says, 
“ These words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine 
heart : and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, 
and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when 
thou walkest b^ the way, and when thou best down, and when 
thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine 
hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And 
thou shalt write them upon tLe posts of thy house, and on thy 
gates.” (See the sixth chapter.) 

These seem to us to be very odd commands, but they w^ere 
very likely to make the people and their children remember all 
about what God did for Israel, in saving them from the Egyp- 
tians, taking care of them in the wilderness, when they served 
him, and bringing them to the land of Canaan. 

;» You know it is a very good way to remember anything, to tie 
■/ a knot at the end of a pocket-handkerchief or a thread round the 
finger, at least you will see people do so to try and remember any- 
thing they are afraid of forgetting ; and so the Jews really tied 
sentences of the law to their wrists, and on their foreheads, and 
wrote them in different parts about their houses, that they might 
remember them ; and all this was good : but Jesus blamed the 
Pharisees for doing so, because they cared not about the w r ords 
they wrote, but thought that when they had done the thing, that 
was enough ; which was a great mistake, for all this should have 
been done that they might really remember God’s word. 

All the Scripture given by God, up to that time, was written 
by scribes, or persons employed to make copies for people, and 
these laws would have been seen by few among so many, but for 
this way of writing the most striking parts, that all might often 
read them. 

My dear young reader, how good is God to you ! He sends 
you the whole Bible, and gives you good parents to teach you to 
read it, and plenty of copies are now printed, instead of written, 
and sold cheap, so that the poorest may have them. It was not 



child’s commentator. 


291 


so, even in England, in former days, for when labourers were 
paid twopence a day, and the prioe of a sheep was a shilling, a 
Bible sold for seventeen pounds, that is to say, for the value of 
three hundred aud forty sheep , and only for eight pounds less than 
the building of two arches of London Bridge then cost. This 
was six hundred years ago. 

But only three hundred years ago, a New Testament cost two 
pounds sixteen shillings and eight pence ; and that seems a great 
deal, but is indeed much more, when 1 tell you that that sum was 
then the same as if forty pounds had been given for it now. 

And not above eighty years ago, Bibles were so scarce in 
Wales, that young people who loved them walked thirty miles 
to get one, and if they succeeded, went back full of joy. 


In the following chapters, on to the eighteenth , most of the 
things are repeated which we have noticed in Leviticus. W e shall 
stop a moment, however, just to make a remark or two on the 
following verses in the last-named chapter. 

“ There shall not be found among you any one that maketh 
his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or that useth divi- 
nation, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a 
charmer, or a con suiter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a 
necromancer. Eor all that do these things are an abomination 
unto the Lord ; and because of these abominations, the Lord thy 
God doth drive them (the Canaanites) out from before thee.” 

The Heathen of Canaan worshipped a fancied god, which they 
called Moloch, and one part of their worship was to make two 
large fires, and their priests led little children between them, and 
so marked them as his servants, as some Christians mark their 
children as servants of Jesus Christ by baptism, while others leave 
this to be done by themselves when they grow up to be men and 
women. On some occasions the poor children were put into the 
fire and burnt to death to please their false god, as their parents 
supposed. O, young reader, love the religion of Jesus Christ, 
which will not suffer such cruelties to be practised on poor little 





children ! You read of them in the twelfth chapter of this book , 
“ For every abomination to the Lord, which he hateth, have they 
done unto their gods ; for even their sons and their daughters 
they have burnt in the fire to their gods.” As there are parts in 
the world where they still burn women, and treat children with 
cruelty, and some where they kill men in sacrifice. 0 pray to God 
still to pity the heathen, and to bless those missionaries who go 
abroad to teach them the more merciful religion of Jesus Christ. 

Charmers, which they had, were persons who pretended, by 
certain foolish methods, to cure diseases and many other evils. 
The blacks, in Africa, have bits of paper on which the priests 
write some words, and these the people wear about them, and 
think they will save them from being drowned or shot, and from 
other ills. Some, too, pretend to ask the devil about things 
which they want to find out. A wizard was a kind of conjuror, 
and a necromancer one who pretended to talk with the dead. 

There are people in this country who profess all these things, 
which they call the black art, and the people were so silly, not 
many years ago, as to suppose that they really could talk with 
the devil and do people harm, and so they punished these pre- 
tenders with death ; and even if any poor old woman had a parti- 
cular sort of face, and looked like what they thought a witch was, 
the people would fall upon her and burn her, or in some other 
way put her to death. W e are now grown wiser, and the word 
of God teaches us that all this is pretence, so that such persons 
are not punished for doing the mischief, but foi pretending to do 
it, and imposing upon people to get their money. Gipsies make 
a deal of money by pretending to tell fortunes, and many silly 
persons give them money to hear what they have to say. Now 
all these things are displeasing to God, who alone knows what 
can happen to us in a future time, and those who practice or en- 
courage them do very wickedly. 

There is another thing about which I must tell you, and which 
you will go back and read about in the nineteenth chapter 
“ Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour’s land-mark, which they 
of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit 
in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee to possess it.” 



child’s commentator. 293 


See how particular God was that his people should be honest. 
The land-mark was then a great stune, which like our stones now, 
that mark the separation of counties and parishes, then served 
the purpose of a hedge, and separated lands from each other. If 
any one was inclined to be dishonest, he could easily remove the 
stone, and so by degrees get away a good deal of his neighbour’s 
inheritance. This was breaking the law, which said, “ Thou 
shalt not steal,” and, “ Thou shalt not covet,” and God therefore 
commanded that it should never be done. 

In the same chapter, God expresses his displeasure at any who 
should bear false witness, or tell lies against his neighbour, to do 
him harm, and whatever harm he intended to do him, he himself 
was to suffer, even if it was death. Where, however, the law de- 
manded “ an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth,” if another 
had knocked one out, or given false witness, (see verse 21,) it was 
not usual to knock out the offender’s eye or tooth, because this 
could not always be an equal punishment. If a man had but one 
eye, and that was knocked out, he became wholly blind, so that 
you see if the man who knocked it out, had one knocked out in- 
stead, it would have left him still another, and he would not have 
suffered like him whom he had injured. There was, therefore, a 
value in money fixed for these injuries, and the judges gave sen- 
tence according to the reckoned amount of the harm done. See 
how just God was in all his laws for Israel. 


THE TWENTY-FIRST TO THE TWENTY-SEVENTH CHAPTER OF 
DEUTERONOMY 

The stubborn Son — False Weights — Doing Mischief to the Blind. 

“ For all that do such things, and all that do unrighteously, are 
an abomination unto the Lord thy God.” — Chap. xxv. 16. 


Now hear what God commanded of old, should be done to the 
rebellious son. 




294 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


In the twenty-first chapter we read, “If a man have a stubborn 
and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father or 
the voice of his mother, and that when they have chastened him 
tvill not hearken unto them : 

“Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and 
bring him unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his 


And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son 
is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice ; he is a 
glutton and a drunkard. 

“ And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that 
he die : so shalt thou put away evil from among you, and all Is- 
rael shall hear and fear.” 

See here how God would have children to honour their pa- 
rents, even when they have grown up to be men and women. 

All children that behaved proudly and insolently to their pa- 
rents, and would not mind what they said to them, and slighted 
their reproofs, and disobeyed their commands, even after they 
had chastised them, were to be looked upon as criminals, and 
brought to punishment like the greatest rogues. 

Here a case is supposed of one that, besides being stubborn and 
rebellious, was a glutton and a drunkard ; and not minding any- 
thing that his father or mother said, he was taken to the magistrates 
of the city where he lived, and punished by being stoned to death. 

O, it must have been heart-breaking to good parents, to be 
obliged to take their rebellious son to the magistrates to be 
executed ! But this was God’s law, and it was the son’s fault if, 
in spite of all that could be said to him, he forgot his duty to his 
parents. 

The Gospel of Jesus Christ requires no such severe law, but, 
my dear young friend, if you have kind Christian parents who 
check you when you would do wicked things, and wish to keep 
you out of the way of sin and temptation, and you still will not 
obey, but as you grow up break through all restraint, and do as you 
please, and cast off your duty to your parents and your obedience 
to God, remember, that though you may not be put to a shameful 
death here, yet for all these things God will bring you into judg- 




In the twenty-fifth chapter, God says, “ Thou shalt not have in 
thy bag divers weights, a great and a small. 

“ But thou shalt have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and 
just measure shalt thou have; that thy days may be lengthened 
in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” 

They must not have a great weight and measure to buy by, 
and a small one to sell by, for that was to cheat both ways, when 
either was bad enough. See how displeasing it is to God to 
cheat our neighbour. 


In the twenty-seventh chapter, we read, “ Cursed be he that 
maketh the blind to wander out of the way.” 

Some young persons might think it amusing to pretend to di- 
rect or lead the blind, and then send him the wrong way. I hope 
that in this Christian land, where there is so much humanity, 
none may be found to do such a wicked thing, but that those who 
are taught to love God and their fellow-creatures, will never do 
what is so cruel and so displeasing to God. 


In the twenty-eighth chapter there is a remarkable prophecy 
about the Jews, in which Moses foretells what happened to them 
many hundred years afterwards. If they should disobey God and 
forsake him, a foreign enemy should enter their land, which the 
Romans did at last, who were then a very fierce and powerful 
nation ; their country should be laid waste, and all the fruits of it 
eaten up by the army of foreigners ; their cities should be be- 
sieged, or surrounded by their foes to take them, and should fall 
into their hands ; and, among other miseries, the tender and deli- 


child’s commentator. 295 

ment ; and your parents that now love you so tenderly, and praj 
for you, and wish to see you happy, must be separated from you 
for ever, in that state where you will be eternally miserable, and 
they eternally happy ! 



296 child’s commentator. 


cate woman even, should be so driven by hunger, that she should 
eat her own child, which really happened ; multitudes should 
perish, so that they should become few in number, and when the 
Romans besieged Jerusalem, there were two millions of Jews that 
perished by the sword, besides those that died of famine and dis- 
ease; and, lastly, the remnant, or Jews that remained, should be 
scattered into all nations ; and this too has come to pass, for now 
they do not make a nation living by themselves, as the French, 
the English, the Spanish, and others ; but though they are still 
numerous, they live apart, scattered among all people ; and there 
are some in America, and some in Germany, and some in France, 
and some in England, and some in many other countries ; a won- 
derful thing, which has not happened to any other nation in the 
world. See how true God is to his word, and what a dreadful 
thing it is to continue obstinately to sin against his commands. 

All these things, and many others of a like kind, Moses wrote, 
and he ordered these laws to be read to all the people at one of 
their solemn feasts, once in every seven years. None were to be i 
without hearing them ; for, said he, “ Gather the people together, | 

men, and women, and children, and the stranger that is within '] 

thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear | 

the Lord your God, and observe to do all the words of this law. 1 

And that their children which have not known anything, may 
hear, and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as you live in 
the land, whither you go over Jordan to possess it.” 

0, what happy young people are you whose parents teach you 
God’s law, that you may know how to serve him, and may early 
learn to do that which is pleasing in his sight. 



child’s commentator. 


297 


THE THIRTY-FIRST AND THIRTY-SECOND CHAPTERS OF DEUTERONOMY. 

Moses warned of his Death — Moses's Song. 

“ And Moses spake in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the 
words of this song, until they were ended.” — Chap. xxxi. 30. 


The Lord now told Moses that he must soon die, and he or- 
dered him to write a song or history in verse, that might remind 
Israel of all that God had done for them, and w r arn them against 
the danger of forsaking him and turning to false gods ; and this 
song would, by being often sung, be fixed in the people’s memo- 
ries, and hand down their wonderful history from father to son, 
and from generation to generation. This song is contained in 
the thirty-second chapter; a few parts you will, perhaps, want to 
be explained. 

Moses begins by saying, “ My doctrine shall drop as the rain : 
my speech shall distil as the dew.” What he means by this is, 
that what he should say, should be designed to do the people as 
much good as the rain and the dew to the barren earth when 
they descend upon it. 

Then he says God is a rock : that is, God is strong as a rock 
is strong, and he is immovable, as a rock is immovable ; that they 
are safe, indeed, that put their trust in him. 

He says also, that with a tender care, like that of an eagle 
towards her young ones. God had guarded Israel ; he made him 
ride on high or proud places of the earth, as a conqueror on his 
charger ; “he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil 
out of the flinty rock,” meaning that in Canaan he had given him 
to enjov that abundance of honey which there was there, and 
which the bees sometimes made in the rocks, in caves of which 
they formed their hives; and oil, also, which, when pressed, was 
put in vats hewn out of the hardest rocks, as it is now. 

But he also sings, “ Jeshurun,” a name he gives to Israel,™ 
“Jeshurun waxed fat and kicked;” meaning that when Israel had 



298 child’s commentator. 

abundance, then the nations grew proud or insolent, like an over- 
fed beast, that would turn and kick the hand that had fed it. 

I have explained what I have thought most needful in this 
song ; you may not, however, still quite understand some other 
parts in it, but I hope that what I have said will sufficiently show 
you its meaning. 

And now, God ordered Moses to go up into Mount Abarim, 
the highest part of which was Mount Nebo, and here he might 
see the land of Canaan, but because he had trespassed against 
God at the waters of Meribah, in the wilderness of Zin, he was 
never to enter into it. 


THE THIRTY-THIRD AND THIRTY-FOURTH CHAPTERS OF DEUTERONOMY. 

Moses blesses Israel — Moses's Death — Joshua leader of Israel. 

“So Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there, in the, land of 
Moab, acording to the word of the Lord.” — Chap, xxxiv. 5. 


Moses, inspired from heaven, now blesses Israel, and like Jacob 
foretels the future lot of the twelve tribes. It would keep us too 
long to explain all that is here said ; you will, however, read, that 
he said of the tribe of J oseph, “ His horns are like the horns of 
unicorns.” Now you are not to suppose that Joseph, or any of 
his tribe, had horns, but this is what we call a figure of speech, in 
which one thing is described by another. We sometimes say of 
a stupid child, he is wooden-headed, but we do not mean that his 
head is made of wood, but only that he is as stupid as if it were 
merely a block. Horns, in Scripture, when applied to people, 
mean power, and as the unicorn is a most powerful animal, Jo- 
seph’s tribe are thus described as being very strong, so that they 
shall beat their enemies whenever they assail them. I have before 
told you, the unicorn is not the animal which painters draw like a 
horse, but a rhinoceros, which is a large beast found in Africa. 

Again, you will read about Zebulun, that “ They shall suck of 



Moaiitj OJS TUE TOi^ OF PISUAU 





MOAB. FROM TUB PLAINS OF JERICHO. 





child’s commentator. 


301 


the abundance of the seas for that tribe were to have part of 
the sea-coast to live upon, and so to fish, and become merchants, 
by which they should live as infants live by drawing milk from 
their mothers’ breasts ; and Issachar should get support by trea- 
sures hid in the sand, perhaps by pearls and corals, which are 
found there by the sea-side. 

Further, Dan is called “ a lion’s whelp meaning that that 
tribe should be like a lion, springing suddenly and powerfully 
upon its enemies. Asher must dip “ his foot in oil that is, the 
ground to be given to that tribe should be well planted with 
olives yielding oil, so that it should be so abundant, that they 
might be said to tread in it ; as we say sometimes of a rich man, 
that he rolls in riches, by which we do not mean that he lies 
down and turns himself over in his heaps of money, but that he 
, has a very large quantity. Moreover, it is foretold of this tribe, 
“ Thy shoes shall be iron and brass not that they should have 
shoes made of iron and brass, for who could wear them on all oc- 
| casions 1 but that they should tread upon ground, like our Cornwall, 
' where mines of precious metal are in abundance under the feet. 

So, further on, you read of God’s riding “ upon the heaven.” 
This is very grand, and is meant to show us, that God manages 
all the affairs of heaven, and that he directs even the clouds, and 
the tempests, and the winds, by his providence, with as much 
ease as a skilful rider manages a noble horse, or a skilful driver 
his chariot. 

You will now, I hope, have a kind of key to unlock the meaning 
of some expressions of the above kind, which you could not be- 
fore understand ; and when any expression of a similar nature 
happens to puzzle you, and appear absurd and contradictory, and 
impossible, only think that it must mean something of what I 
have just told you, and then the difficulty will be overcome. 

And now we come to the death of Moses, which you shall 
have in the words in which it is described in the Bible : “ So 
Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there, in the land of Moab, 
according to the word of the Lord. And he buried him in a val- 
ley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor : but no man 
knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day. 







302 child’s commentator. 2 


THE MOUNTAINS OF ABARIM. 


“And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he 
died : his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. 

“ And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of 
Moab, thirty days : so the days of weeping and mourning for 
Moses were ended. 

“ And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, 
whom the Lord knew face to face : in all the signs and the won- 
ders which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pha- 
raoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land. And in all that 
mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses show r ed in 
the sight of all Israel.” 

Joshua now became the leader of Israel. “ And Joshua, the 
son of Nun, was full of the spirit of w T isdom ; for Moses had laid 
his hand upon him,” to pray to God to give him his Spirit, “ and 
the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the Lord 
commanded Moses.” 





THE BOOK OF JOSHUA, 


OR 

HISTORY OF THE WONDERFUL CONQUESTS OF JOSHUA, 




THE FIRST, SECOND, THIRD, FOURTH, AND FIFTH CHAPTERS OF JOSHUA. 

Joshua passes Jordan — Joshua meets an Angel. 

“ For the priests which bore the ark stood in the midst of Jor 
dan, until every thing was finished that the Lord commanded 
Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Moses 
commanded Joshua, and the people hasted and passed over.” 
— Chap. iv. 10. 




Moses having died, God now commanded Joshua to take pos- 
session of the land which he promised that Israel should inherit; 
and he told him to be of good courage, and only to mind the holy 
law and obey it, and he should be sure to prosper. 

Joshua then gave orders to the officers of the people, to provide, 
victuals for marching ; and he desired the Reubenites and Gadites, 
and the half tribe of Manasseh, who had already got their pos- 
sessions, to join their brethren and assist in taking the land, which 
they honourably agreed to do, as they had before promised. 

“ And Joshua, the son of Nun, sent out of Shittim, two men 
to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho : and 
they went and came unto a harlot’s house, named Rahab, and 
lodged there.” 



304 



child’s commentator. 




A harlot means a very wicked woman, and as persons who 
kept inns were not always the most moral, they all got this 
name. But it is reasonably thought, that Rahab was not so bad 
as the name means, but only an innkeeper, where these spies 
went to lodge : for it does not seem likely that good men would, 
if they could help it, go to lodge with so vile a person as a har- 
lot means, and much less can we suppose that Salmon, a Jewish 
prince, would afterwards have married such an one ; but he did 
marry Rahab. (See Matt. i. 5.) 

The king of Jericho soon learnt that Joshua’s spies had visit- 
ed his city, and finding out where they were, he sent to Rahab 
to deliver them up. However, instead of delivering them up, she 
hid them. And she said that the men had been there, but they 
were gone, and if they were pursued, they would soon be overtaken. 

Now all this time she knew that the men were on the flat roof 
of her house, for so the roofs are made in that part of the world ; 
and she had covered them over with stalks of flax, which she had 
laid upon the roof to dry in the sun, in order to the beating of 
it, and making it ready for the wheel — a proof that she was an 
industrious woman. 

We learn in the eleventh chapter of the Hebrews, that Rahab 
saved herself and her family by faith. She believed that God 
would destroy the wicked people among whom she lived, as he 
had already destroyed the two kings of the Amorites that were on 
the other side of Jordan, Sihon and Og ; and, therefore she would 
not be guilty of giving up his faithful servants to perish. If this 
had not been a case quite out of the common way, her conduct in 
preserving men who were going to destroy her country, would 
have been very wicked, and that of a traitor ; but God worked 
upon her heart, made her kind to the spies, and so prepared the 
way for Joshua to take Jericho, and to save her and her family. 

But, as to the lie which she told, she was to blame, for no one 
is justified in telling a lie ; as it is a wicked thing, we are sure that 
God did not prompt her to that. This was the means which she 
thought of to save the men, but God could and would have saved 
them, without her doing anything so wrong. What can we say 
for her % Why she had lived among heathens, and, as yet, knew 






child’s commentator. 305 

no better. When she afterwards came to live among the Israel- 
ites, she would learn that a lie was a very wicked thing. 

Having got rid of the king’s officers, Rahab went upon the 
house-top, and made a bargain with the spies, that as she had 
saved them, they would, in turn, save her and her family, con- 
sisting of her father and mother, and brothers and sisters. This 
was very affectionate on her part, and as she had shown the spies 
so much kindness, they readily agreed to show kindness to her. 

As it would have been dangerous for the spies to have passed 
through the streets, she “ let them down by a cord through the 
window : for her house was upon the town wall, and she dwelt 
upon the wall.” And she told them to flee to the mountains that 
were near, and hide there for three days, and by that time the 
men who were in pursuit of them, would be tired, and give up 
the chase, and then they might safely go home. 

The spies were, however, afraid, lest by any mistake, in the 
hurry of battle, Rahab and her relations should be killed ; and, 
therefore, to make her safety more sure, they agreed that she 
should tie a line of scarlet thread in the window, by which thread 
they were let down, and that all her family should be brought 
together under her roof, and no one should dare to venture into 
I the street, or, if he did, his blood should be upon his own head, 
that is, his death would be his own fault and not theirs. She was, 
also, faithfully to keep everything secret which had happened, or 
to lose their protection. 

So the men hid in the mountains three days, when their pur- 
suers returned ; and they got safe back and told Joshua what had 
taken place, and what they had heard from Rahab that the peo- 
ple had heard of Israel’s victories, and were afraid of them. 
“ And they said unto Joshua, Truly the Lord hath delivered into 
our hands all the land ; for even all the inhabitants of the coun- 
try do faint because of us.” 


The next morning Joshua prepared to set off for Jericho. And 
he came to Jordan with all Israel, and after three days the officers 
went through the host, and desired them to follow the ark of the 




306 child’s commentator. 

covenant, which the Levites should carry before them. This ark 
was a sign of God’s presence amongst them, and that he was 
their chief guide. They were to keep at the distance of two 
thousand cubits, or three thousand feet, a little more than half a 
mile, so that they might treat the ark with reverence, by not 
crowding upon it, and that they might see it better than they 
could if they were all thronging near it. 

And now the people were to pass over Jordan, and as God 
was going to do wonderful things for them, Joshua commanded 
them to sanctify themselves for the occasion ; meaning, that they 
should wash their persons and garments from all defilement, and 
that in token of the holy frames in which their minds should also 
be, when God was going to appear so strikingly in their behalf. 

So the day following the priests and the Levites “ took up the 
ark of the covenant and went before the people.” 

And God told Joshua that he would now honour him by a 
wonderful miracle, which should show Israel that he had chosen 
him to lead Israel, as he had before chosen Moses. 

And Joshua told Israel what God would do for them, and that 
as soon as the priests who bore the ark should touch the brink of 
the river with their feet, the waters of Jordan should stand upon 
an heap on one side, so as not to flow down their channel ; while 
those on the other side should continue running without any 
fresh supply ; and so the bed, or bottom of the river, should be 
dry for Israel to pass over, as the Ked Sea had before been for 
their fathers with Moses. Joshua also ordered twelve men to be 
selected, perhaps to go near and witness this miracle, for the en- 
tire satisfaction of the rest. 

So the priests moved forward and stood in Jordan; and the 
waters dried up as Joshua had foretold, although this happened 
at the time of harvest, when the river overflowed its banks, from 
the great quantity of water ; which made the miracle the more 
wonderful. “ And all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, 
until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.” 

The number of the Israelites at this time was six hundred’ 
thousand men, besides women and children, which was, indeed, 
a vast army ; yet it is wonderful that the Canaanites did not 



child’s commentator. 


307 


watch them, and try to stop their crossing of Jordan. But perhaps 
they thought they could not pass the river where they did, and if 
they saw that the waters yielded to make way for them, it was 
quite enough to frighten them, alarmed as they already were, and 
to make them run away, wherever they could, for safety. But 
where can they be safe against whom God fights by his fierce judg- 
ments 1 O let us take care how we offend God, as the wicked 
people of Canaan did, by giving themselves up to all kinds of vice ! 

You know it is very usual for us to set up monuments in me- 
mory of great events. In Charlestown, Massachusetts, there 
is a monument to commemorate the battle of Bunker Hill ; in 
Baltimore there are several in memory of great battles, and all 
over the country there are monuments to those who were killed 
in our wars, and to President Lincoln, who was murdered. The 
passing over Jordan was one of those great events which should 
be thus commemorated, and Joshua, therefore, commanded 
twelve men, one from each tribe, and, probably, the same men 
spoken of before, to take twelve stones from the spot where the 
priests’ feet had stood, and to carry them to their first lodging- 
place over Jordan, where they were to leave them. And so, 
when at any future time their children should ask, “ What mean 
you by these stones ?” they should be told, “ that the waters of 
Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, 
when it passed over Jordan, and that the stones were a memorial 
unto the children of Israel for ever.” 

Children may, at proper times, respectfully ask their parents 
questions about things they wish to know, and especially about 
the works of the Almighty. 

Joshua also set up twelve other stones “in the midst of Jor- 
dan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bore the ark 
of the covenant stood and there they were when the Book of 
Joshua was written. 

All the people having passed over, including the children of 
Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, who passed over 
before the rest, being about forty thousand prepared for war, 
Joshua then ordered the priests to come out of Jordan, and its 
waters immediately flowed as before. So, “ On that day the 
12 



308 child’s commentator. 


Lord magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel ;” and owned 
him as his servant appointed to lead Israel, “ and they feared (or 
honoured) him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life.” 

And the people encamped in a place which they called Gilgal, 
in the east borders of Jericho, where the twelve stones brought 
out of the river were pitched, “ That all the people of the earth 
might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty and so fear 
the Lord God of Israel for ever. 


The drying up of Jordan must have been seen for some miles, 
and the news of the wonderful event, with the passage of the Is- 
raelites, soon spread among the Canaanites, and filled them with 
the greatest alarm, “ neither was there spirit in them any more, 
because of the children of Israel.” 

And God now commanded Joshua to mark the Israelites of 
the new generation with the sign of his covenant with them, and 
they kept a solemn passover, which they had been denied in their 
wanderings in the wilderness. The country people naturally fled 
away from the invading armies, and all their corn in the field and 
in store became the property of the Israelites, w'ho took it and 
fed upon it, as part of their promised possession, given them by 
that God who caused it to grow ; and having no more need of 
manna, that miraculous supply of food ceased, and “ they did eat 
of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.” 

The fifth chapter closes with an account of a wonderful appear- 
ance to Joshua. The person who appeared to him, while he was, 
perhaps, thoughtfully looking around Jericho, and contriving 
how to take it, was no common being, or he would not have wor- 
shipped him ; and from the command to take off his shoe, which 
was an act of reverence, it was that Angel who appeared in the 
burning bush to Moses. He now told Joshua that he had come 
as Captain of the Lord’s host, and Joshua might well be encou- 
raged with the assurance that God would fight for him, and give 
him the promised land for his people. 



PLAINS OP .TL 1 !? rmm 





JOSHUA BEFORE JERICHO 




child’s COMMENTATOR. 311 


THE SIXTH CHAPTER OF JOSHUA. 

The Taking of Jericho. 

‘‘And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given unto thine 
hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of 
valour.” — Ver. 2. 


When the people of Jericho saw the armies of Israel coming, 
they shut up the strong gates of their city ; but though this would 
have preserved them from usual danger, yet now that God had 
given them up to Israel, nothing could save them. 

But the city was to be taken in a very wonderful way, to show 
that, after all, the hand of God was in it. 

Joshua had no orders to batter it, or scale its walls. The men 
of war were only to march round it once a day for six days ; and 
the ark was to be carried round, and seven priests were to march 
before it, blowing seven trumpets of rams’-horns. And on the 
seventh day they were to walk round the city seven times, and 
the priests were to blow with their trumpets : and at a long blast 
of the trumpets, the people were to make a loud shouting, when 
the wall of the city should fall down flat, and every man could 
get in without difficulty. 

So the armed men went before the priests that blew the trum- 
pets, and a number of people followed the ark, and they marched 
round the city daily, till the seventh day. Then J oshua gave the 
word, “Shout, for the Lord hath given you the city.” And he 
commanded that everything should be destroyed in the city, ex- 
cept Rahab and her family, and the valuable metals that might 
be found, which were to be preserved for sacred uses. 

And when the people shouted, down fell the wall, and then the 
Israelites marched in, “ and they utterly destroyed all that was 
in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and 
sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword.” This was an awful 
execution, but God commanded it, and it teaches us to stand in 
awe of his judgments. 






The city was also burnt with fire, but Rahab and her family 
were, by order of Joshua, saved by the spies, who took them 
without the camp, and she ever after lived with the Israelites. 
Joshua also pronounced a curse against him who should, at any 
future time, attempt to rebuild Jericho. 


THE SEVENTH CHAPTER OF JOSHUA. 

The Sin of Achan. 

“ But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed 
thing : for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son 
of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing : and 
the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Is- 
rael.” — Ver. 1. 

Although the Israelites had been warned, at their peril not to 
touch any part of the spoils of Jericho, yet one was so overcome 
by his covetous spirit, that he ventured, in spite of God’s com- 
mand. 

This sin was, however, soon found out ; for Joshua sent men 
to view Ai, another city, about twelve miles from Jericho. And 
when they returned, they told him that the people were fled, and 
that the city would be easily taken ; so that if he sent two or 
three thousand men against it, that would be quite enough. 

So Joshua did so, but the men of Ai rushed out of the city, 
put them to flight, and killed thirty-six of their number. This 
frightened Israel, for they thought that after what happened to 
Jericho, the other people of Canaan would take their revenge, 
and their hearts lost all courage, and became as weak as water. 

Then Joshua rent, or tore his clothes, as the Jews did when 
they were in great grief, and he and the elders of Israel put dust 
upon their heads, and fell with their faces before the ark of the 
Lord, to prove how much they felt humbled before God. And 
Joshua pleaded with God to save Israel. 



CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


313 


Then God told Joshua, in some way, that Israel had sinned, 
and had taken what was accursed, and ought not to have been 
saved, and this was the reason why they could not stand before 
their enemies. 

And God ordered Joshua to tell the people to sanctify, or wash 
themselves, to appear decently on the solemn occasion, and to 
take the tribes of Israel, and find out who had been the thief ; and 
after casting lots it w r as discovered that Achan, of the tribe of 
Judah, was the man. 

Then Achan confessed his sin, and he said, “When I saw 
among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment,” which some think 
was, most likely, the king of Jericho’s royal robe, “ and two hun- 
dred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels’ weight, 
then I coveted them, and took them ; and, behold, they are hid 
in the earth, in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.” 

So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, 
behold, it was hid in the tent, and the silver under it. And they 
took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto 
Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out be- 
fore the Lord. 


THE SEVENTH CHAPTER OF JOSHUA. CONCLUDED. 

The Stoning of Achan. 

“And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan, the son of 
Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, 
and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, 
and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had : and they 
brought them unto the valley of Achor. 

“And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us“? the Lord shall 
trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, 
and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with 
stones.” — Vers. 24, 25. 




1 


child’s commentator. 


B14 

It may appear strange that God should make all Israel suffer 
for the sin of one, and that thirty-six men should be killed at Ai, 
because Achan had broken God’s command. But as Israel were 
a people prone to sin, this fear came upon them for a future 
warning ; and as for the thirty-six that fell, we are sure that God 
would do right respecting them. Perhaps they had designed to 
have done as Achan did, but could not find the opportunity ; 
God, however, knew their hearts. 

Then, again, it appears strange that all Achan’s family should 
perish with him ; but it is most likely that they all delighted in 
the prize which they thought he had got, and helped him to con- 
ceal the articles ; in which case, knowing it was against God’s 
command, they were as wicked as he. 

Why God had the cattle destroyed we cannot so easily ex- 
plain ; but, perhaps, it might be to prevent any of them from 
being afterwards used for any sacred purpose in sacrifice, or for 
the service of the Tabernacle, as they had belonged to so wicked 
a man, and God would have nothing used for his honour that was 
defiled. At this time such distinctions are useless, but then God 
spoke to men by them, and taught them most holy and solemn 
lessons. 

Some think that though Achan was punished, and God’s law 
satisfied in his death, yet that God’s mercy was granted to him 
in another world. But as nothing is said about this, we must be 
silent, and remember, from this example, how shocking a thing 
it is to displease God. We have, indeed, often done things with 
which he must have been displeased ; let us study, however, 
never wilfully to offend him, and let us seek his pardon for all 
our offences, through Jesus Christ, on account of whom he is still 
ready to forgive us. 


315 



THE EIGHTH CHAPTER OF JOSHUA. 

The Talcing of Ai. 

* And Joshua burnt Ai, and made it an heap for ever, even a de. 
solation unto this day.” — Ver. 28 . 


God now encouraged Joshua to go and take Ai, the inhabit- 
ants of which were to perish, like those of Jericho, but it was his 
pleasure that the goods and cattle should not be destroyed. 

So Joshua took all the people of war with him, and chose out 
thirty thousand brave men, who marched by night to lie in wait, 
cunningly hid behind the city. 

And in the morning he himself went up with a body of men, 
( and appeared before the city ; and he set another body of men, 
i to the number of five thousand, to lie in ambush, or concealed, 
£ near where the first body was hidden. 

And Joshua retired into a neighbouring valley. And when the 
king of Ai saw the number of his men which he exposed, and 
) was not awtire that any were hidden, he marched boldly out to 
attack them. Joshua and those that were with him then ran 
away, as the troops did that were beaten because of the sin of 
Achan ; and, the king of Ai supposing that they did so in earnest, 
pursued them, and all the men of Ai joined the army, and thought 
that now they should ruin Israel for ever. 

Joshua having drawn them all out of the city, made a sigh 
with his spear, which was known to those that were concealed, 
and as the gates of the city were left open, they rushed in and 
set some of it on fire. 

The men of Ai happening to look behind, saw the smoke, and 
they were so frightened that they knew not which way to run. 
Then Joshua turned upon them ; and those in the city ran out 
and attacked them on the other side, and they “ let none of them 
remain or escape.” So that day there fell full twelve thousand, 
even all the men and women of Ai. 


1 



316 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 

And Joshua finished the burning of Ai after taking the cattle 
and the spoil, and the king of Ai he hanged on a tree, till the even- 
ing, when the body was taken down, according to the custom of 
the Jews, and was thrown on the ground at the entrance to the 
city, and a great heap of stones raised over it in memory of the 
event. 

“ Then Joshua built an altar unto the God of Israel, in Mount 
Ebal,” and there the people offered burnt-offerings, and peace- 
offerings unto the Lord, in thankfulness to him for the good land 
into which he had brought them. And he wrote upon the stones 
of the altar, a copy of the blessings and curses of the law of 
Moses, and he read all the words of the law to all Israel, “ with 
the women and the little ones, and the strangers that were con- 
versant among them,” so that you see, even little children were 
to attend to the law of God, or they would suffer his displeasure 
if they broke it. 


THE NINTH CHAPTER OF JOSHUA. 

The Giheonites saved hy Craft. 

“ And when the inhabitants of Gideon had heard what Joshua 
had done unto Jericho and to Ai, 

“ They did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been 
ambassadors ; and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine 
bottles, old, and rent, and bound up. 

“ And old shoes, and clouted, upon their feet, and old garments 
* upon them ; and all the bread of their provision was dry and 
mouldy. 

“And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto 
him, and to the men of Israel, We be come from a far coun- 
try ; now, therefore, make ye a league with us.” — Vers. 3 — 6. 

Alarmed at the success of Joshua against Jericho and Ai, all 
the kings of Canaan now joined together to fight him. 

But the inhabitants of Gibeon, which was supposed to have 
been the capital of the Hittites , thought it better to try and make 


1 


317 



child’s commentator. 


friends with a people that they might vainly hope to withstand 
But what were they to do ? They, no doubt, understood that the 
Israelites gave no quarter to the Canaanites, so they resolved to go 
to them as strangers from a very far country. Some think it w r ould 
have been better if they had honestly thrown themselves on their 
mercy, than have practised deceit. However, of this we know 
nothing. They tried a trick, and it, in part, succeeded. They 
lived only about twenty-four miles off from where the tents of the 
Israelites were pitched, and must soon have fallen a prey to theii 
sword. So they dressed up men like ambassadors from a far 
country, and they took with them old sacks, to make the Israelites 
believe that they had carried a deal of provision with them for a 
long journey ; and wine-bottles, which were made of goat-skins, 
and not of glass as ours are, and these were “ old, and rent, and 
bound up,” as if they had tried every method to make them hold 
their liquor to the last ; and old shoes or sandals for the soles of 
the feet, which they had patched, to make it appear that they had 
, walked very far in them by the side of their asses ; and old gar- 
‘sjs ments worn as by long travelling; and lastly, mouldy bread. \H 

And as soon as they arrived at the camp of Israel, they saw \ 

Joshua, and they told him they had come a great; way, and want- 
ed him to make a league with them, that is, an agreement to be 
friends. The men of Israel seemed rather to suspect them, and 
hinted that they probably dwelt near, and then how could they 
make a league with them, for they knew that God had said 
(Deut. vii. 2), “ Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor 
shew mercy unto them.” 

Being challenged as Canaanites, they made no answer, but 
turned to Joshua, whom they found out to be the chief, and they 
said, “We are thy servants.” 

Joshua then asked, “ Who are ye ? and whence come ye?” And 
they told Joshua that they had heard of - all the fame of the God 
of Israel, and what he had done in Egypt, and to the kings Sihon 
and Og, cunningly saying nothing about Jericho and Ai, as if they 
knew nothing about Canaan. And they added, that their people 
being desirous of uniting with them, had ordered them to under- 
take the long journey to get their consent. And then they showed 



318 


child’s commentator. 


Joshua the old rubbish they had got with theip, and, to deceive 
him, they said, “ This, our bread, we took hot from our provision, 
out of our houses, on the day we came forth to go unto you ; but 
now, behold, it is dry, and it is mouldy, and these bottles of 
wine which we filled, were new ; and, behold, they be rent ; and 
these, our garments and our shoes, are become old, by reason of 
the very long journey.” 

So the Israelites then “ took of their victuals,” which was an 
act of friendship, and it is so considered among the people of 
Asia to this day, and those who eat even salt together, feel them- 
selves bound by a perpetual covenant or engagement, to be faith- 
ful to each other. In doing this they placed themselves in a 
great difficulty ; for, Joshua having made peace with the Gibeon- 
ites, and the princes of the congregation having taken their oath 
that they should live — if they had put them to death, they would 
have broken their oath, and this would have been very wicked ; 
and yet, in sparing them, they had spared a people whom God 
had appointed to destruction, and Israel were to be his execu- 
tioners. However, there was this excuse for them, that they did 
not spare them as Canaanites, as they thought that they were of 
another country. 

In three days only, the Israelites found out that the Gibeonites 
had cheated them, and that they lived close by them. Liars will, 
sooner or later, be detected. But as the Israelites had promised 
to spare their lives, the princes or chiefs did so, and when they 
came to the four cities which belonged to their people, “ they 
smote them not, because the princes of the congregation had 
sworn unto them by the Lord God of Israel.” 

The congregation murmured at this, for they were not all 
engaged in the matter, and it is feared that some of them were 
displeased that they could not get the plunder. However, the 
chiefs quieted the people, and punished the Gibeonites by making 
slaves of them all the days of their lives. They were obliged to 
be hewers of wood and drawers of water, which was reckoned a 
very degrading employment. So they hewed wood and drew 
water for the use of the people, and particularly for the service 
of the Tabernacle. 


child’s commentator. 


319 


THE TENTH CHAPTER OF JOSHUA. 

The five Kings defeated and executed — The Sun and Moon 
stand still for Joshua. 

“ Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, 
the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Laehish, 
the king of Eglon, gathered themselves together and went up, 
they and all their hosts, and encamped before Gibeon, and 
made war against it.” — Ver 5. 


After the people of Gibeon had united with Israel, Adonizedek, 
who was the king of Jerusalem, “ sent to Hoham, king of He- 
bron, and unto Piram, king of Jarmuth, and unto Japhia, king of 
Laehish, and unto Debir, king of Eglon, saying, Come up unto 
me and help me, that we may smite Gibeon ; for it hath made 
peace with Joshua, and with the children of Israel. 

So the kings united with Adonizedek, and marched against 
Gibeon. And when the people saw so great an army against 
them, they were again in a fright, and they sent off to Joshua 
with all speed, saying, “ Come up to us quickly, and save us, 
and help us.” 

Now, as Joshua had given his word, he would not kill the 
Gibeonites ; and he would not, if he could help it, let others kill 
them. So he marched all night to Gibeon, with all his army, and 
God told him to fear nothing. And he fell upon the five kings, 
and they being surprised, fled on every side, and Joshua pursued 
them. And God made it hail, and the storm fell upon them, 
and the stones were so large and came down with such a force, 
that “ they were more which died with hail-stones, than they 
whom the children of Israel slew with the sword.” 

The battle, probably, began very early in the morning, and 
Joshua chased the five kings till the evening. And, now the sun 
and moon were both in sight : the sun was setting, and the moon 
rising. But Joshua had not destroyed all his enemies, and he 


il 


320 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


spoke to the Lord before Israel, that the sun might stand still 
upon Gibeon, and the moon in the valley of Ajalon, over which 
they both seemed to shine, and so, by the day and the light hold- 
ing out longer, he might completely defeat his foes. “ And the 
sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had 
avenged themselves upon their enemies.” 

Thus was Joshua highly honoured before all the people ; and 
God showed to the heathen how foolish they were to worship the 
sun and moon, which they did, when He who made them could 
do as he pleased with them against themselves, and was alone 
worthy to be adored. 

The five kings being entirely beaten, went to hide themselves 
in a cave, where the Israelites found them out, and they told 
Joshua, saying, “ The five kings are found hid in a cave at Mak- 
kedah.” And Joshua said, “ Roll great stones upon the mouth 
of the cave,” so as to make them prisoners, “ and set men by it 
for to keep them. And stay you not, but pursue after your ene- 
mies, and smite the hindmost of them ; suffer them not to enter 
into their cities, for the Lord your God hath delivered them into 
your hand. And it came to pass when J oshua and the children 
of Israel had made an end of slaying them with a very great 
slaughter till they were consumed,” so that none but stragglers 
were left here and there, and no army remained, “ that the rest 
which remained of them entered into fenced cities.” 

The people now returned to the camp, and Joshua ordered the 
kings to be brought out of the cave. And he desired his captains 
to come and put their feet upon the necks of the kings, which 
was an encouragement to them to show them that these were but 
the beginnings of victory, and that so they should trample under 
feet all the wicked idolaters of Canaan, till they had got the 
whole land for a possession as God had promised. 

And then Joshua smote them and slew them, “ and hanged 
them on five trees ;” and in the evening they were taken down 
and put into the cave in which they had hid, and great stones 
were put before the cave, and there the bodies remained when the 
Book of Joshua was written. 

The same day in which the five kings were hung, Joshua took 


1 





child’s commentator. 321 

Makkedah, a royal city, and he slew its king and all its people. 
Then he took Libnah and its king, and served them in the same 
manner. And then he went to Lachish, and that he destroyed, 
but the king had already been hung with the five kings. And 
thence he went to Eglon, and did exactly the same there, the 
king having already been executed. And from Eglon he went to 
Hebron, which, it seems, had chosen another king in the room of 
the one that was hung, and he “ took it and smote it with the 
edge of the sword, and the king thereof, and all the cities there- 
of;” for Eglon was like London, the chief city, but there were 
other smaller ones belonging to it. On his way back he also 
took Debir and its king. 

“So Joshua smote all the country of the hills, and of the 
south, and of the vale, and of the springs, and all their kings : he 
left none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as 
the Lord God of Israel commanded.” “ All these kings and their 
land did Joshua take at onetime, because the Lord God of Israel ( 
fought for Israel.” II 

I think, my dear young reader, that you must almost have been | 
frightened yourself to read of such dreadful havoc among the 1 
people of Canaan. It was, indeed, shocking that so many should J 
have been so cut off with the sword ; and Joshua would have been 
a very wicked man had he done all this of his own accord. But 
you have already read how God destroyed all the old world with 
a floods except Noah and his family, and how he caused fire to 
descend from heaven, and to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, and 
the other wicked cities that perished with them. Now, it pleased 
God, instead of bringing a flood, or sending fire upon these 
Canaanites, to order Joshua to destroy them with the sword, and 
he, therefore, acted as God’s executioner. 

God is a merciful God, therefore the crimes of these people 
must have been very great indeed, that he should order them all 
to be destroyed in so dreadful a way. They were a wicked race 
of idolaters, and lest they should spread all over the world, God 
ordered them to be swept away. 

The poor children also perished. See how great an evil it is 
to have wicked parents, and bless God, if yours love God, and so 




322 child's commentator. 

are loved of him, and are training you up that you may be hap- 
py with themselves in God’s favour. Some of these children 
were, however, too little to know good from evil, and though 
they died, we may believe that a merciful God showed them 
mercy for the sake of Jesus Christ, who should die for sinners, 
and that in heaven they now praise God that they did not live to 
be men and women, and so, among wicked heathen, to have be- 
come heathen themselves. 


THE ELEVENTH AND TWELFTH CHAPTERS OF JOSHUA. 


Further Conquests of Joshua. 

“ So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord 
said unto Moses, and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto 
Israel, according to their divisions by their tribes. And the 
land rested from war.” — Chap. xi. 23. 


| There were yet more kings in Canaan, and they would not let 
1 Joshua alone, but Jabin, king of Hazor, got a number of other 
kings to join him, “ and they went out, they and all their hosts 
with them, much people, even as the sand that is upon the sea- 
shore in multitudes, with horses and chariots very many.” And 
these kings all marched to fight against Israel. 

Josephus, a Jewish writer, says “ that the Canaanitish army 
consisted of three hundred thousand foot, ten thousand horse, and 
twenty thousand chariots ;” and this he might know from some 
books of the wars which had been kept among the Jews. The 
chariots were very terrible things, for they had iron scythes 
sticking out on each side to cut down men, as they rolled along. 

God told Joshua not to fear this army, for he also should soon 
destroy it as he had the others. And Joshua smote them, and 
houghed their horses, or lamed them, that they could not rush on 
his men, and he burnt all their chariots with fire. 

“ And all the cities of these kings, and all the kings of them 




1 



child’s commentator. 323 

did Joshua take, and smote them with the edge of the sword, 
and he utterly destroyed them, as Moses, the servant of the Lord, 
commanded.” 

Some cities of Canaan that were very strong, were, however, 
preserved for the Israelites to dwell in ; and the Israelites also 
preserved their cattle and their wealth for their own use, but de- 
stroyed all the people, as God commanded. 

• It is said that the Lord hardened the hearts of these Canaanites, 
that they should come against Israel in battle ; which means that 
he left them to their own hardness of heart, so that they did not 
try, like the Gibeonites, to get their lives spared by submission. 

It is said, too, that “Joshua made war a long time with all 
those kings for though the Bible gives a very short account of 
J oshua’s conquests, yet they were not all accomplished in a day, 
a week, a month, or a year. Some of the J ewish writers say, 
they took seven years to complete them. 

The last thing that Joshua did was to attack the Anakims, a 
race of giants, or strong men, that lived in the mountains about 
Canaan, and them also he destroyed entirely, excepting some that 
lived in the cities of Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod. 

Altogether, thirty-one kings were conquered. Canaan, indeed, 
was a small territory ; but then kings, instead of having millions 
of subjects, as they now have, had only a few thousands. So, 
formerly in England, there were many kings, who reigned 
only over a county or two each, while now one sovereign reigns 
over all the counties, and Scotland and Ireland besides. 

Canaan must, however, have been, indeed, a good land, and 
full of corn, and herbs, and fruit, to feed so many ; but the peo- 
ple never honoured nor served the God who had given it to them, 
so he took it at last entirely away, “ and gave their land for an 
heritage, even an heritage unto Israel his servant, for his mercy 
cndureth for ever.” 


) 




THE THIRTEENTH, FOURTEENTH, FIFTEENTH, SIXTEENTH, SEVEN 
TEENTH, EIGHTEENTH, AND NINETEENTH CHAPTERS OF JOSHUA. 

The Land divided by Joshua among the Tribes. 

“ These are the inheritances which Eleazar, the priest, and 
Joshua, the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the 
tribes of the children of Israel, divided for an inheritance by- 
lot, in Shiloh, before the Lord, at the door of the tabernacle of 
the congregation ; so they made an end of dividing the coun- 
try.” — Chap. xix. 51. 


The whole land was not yet conquered ; for God said to 
Joshua, “Thou art old and stricken,” or grown, “in years, and 
there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed.” 

In the thirteenth chapter we read the account of the land that 
was yet to be given to Israel, consisting of all the borders of the 
Philistines and others. 

Now, as Joshua was old, he was not required to fight any- 
more, but to leave others to do this, and he was only to divide 
the lots or portions among the people of Israel, and so there 
could be no quarrelling amongst themselves after his death, about 
what parts they should have. 

Among the portions, he w T as to give land that was not yet con- 
quered ; but what God promises he always performs, and the 
children of Israel were to take his word, as though the thing were 
done, and to receive for lots some countries which should be con- 
quered by them, when their tribes might be so large as to need 
them. 

Caleb was one of the twelve spies, and he contradicted the timid 
spies that would have made the people afraid of taking Canaan. 

In the fourteenth chapter we find him asking Joshua for a par- 
ticular portion which Moses had granted to him for his pious 
confidence in God. For Moses had said, “ Surely the land where- 
on thy feet have trodden, shall be thine inheritance and thy chil- 





CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


325 


dren’s for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the Lord my 
God.” Caleb, with gratitude, said — that God had preserved him 
to enjoy that lot, and though he had come to be eighty-five years 
old, yet he was still ready to fight in his righteous cause, and God 
had made him strong enough to drive out the enemy, though the 
land he desired was inhabited by some of the most mighty. 

And Joshua blessed him for his faith in God, and gave him 
Hebron, as he desired, for an inheritance. 

And afterwards we read that Caleb conquered Hebron, and 
“ drove thence the three sons of Anak.” 

Then he had to take Debir or Kirjath-sepher. And he offered 
a reward to the captain who should take it, which reward was the 
gift of his daughter as a wife. In Eastern countries this is re- 
garded as the highest honor that can be conferred, to be allow- 
ed to marry a princess, such as Caleb’s daughter was, as a re- 
ward for some act of valor. Caleb was the chief prince of the 
tribe of Judah, and it was a great privilege to be allied to him. 
Here the wishes of the woman herself are consulted, but there 
they are not. Well, “ Othniel, the son of Kenaz, the brother of 
Caleb,” took the city, and so he married Achsah, Caleb’s daugh- 
ter, who was his first-cousin, and to who'm, it is supposed, he 
wished before to be united, and therefore he bravely w*ent and 
took the city out of regard for her. This Othniel was, some 
years after, made a judge or governor of Israel. 

There is a story about Achsah, that when her father took her 
home to Othniel, she got his leave to ask a field of her father, 
which she much desired, for he had given her some land that 
looked towards the south, and was very dry ; so he gave her some 
land on high and low ground, with “ upper springs and nether,” 
or lower springs ; which was, of course, well watered, having 
these springs in it, and this was very desirable in so hot a coun- 
try, especially for watering cattle. This seems an odd little story 
to slip in here ; but it was of some importance, for there is no- 
thing useless in the Bible ; and the reason why this was mention- 
ed was, perhaps, to take care and let it be known to the Israel- 
ites in future, how this bit of land came into the hands of Oth- 
niel, who would otherwise have had no right in it for Caleb had 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


326 

some sons to inherit his property. (See 1 Chron. iv. 15.) We 
should always see, in the smallest thing, that we have a just right 
to what we possess. 

And now we may hasten through this and the following chap- 
ters, without meeting with anything remarkable, though all they 
contain was of great importance for securing to every tribe a full 
right to its possession. 

The fifteenth chapter marks out very carefully the lot of the 
tribe of Judah, — all the cities, and towns, and villages, and coun- 
tries, granted to the people of that tribe ; but it is said they could 
not drive the Jebusites out of Jerusalem, who continued there 
when the Book of Joshua was completed. 

It is to be feared that this tribe were sluggish, and did not put 
that trust in God which they ought to have done, or they would 
have had more land in their possession. The fault was not in 
God’s promise, which he would have kept, but in their not trying 
to get the land, which it was their duty to have done. 

It was in the country of this tribe that Jesus was afterwards 
; born ; that is, in Bethlehem of Judea. 

i The sixteenth and seventeenth chapters mark out the lot of the 
tribes of the children of Joseph — Manasseh and Ephraim. The 
Ephraimites, like the children of Judah, seem also to have be- 
come soon too idle, for they did not drive the Canaanites out of 
Gezer, though God had commanded them “ utterly to drive out 
the Canaanites,” and to make no peace with them. 

In the lot of the tribe of Ephraim was Rama, the city of Samuel, 
called in the New Testament Arimathea, where Joseph belonged, 
who took care of the burial of J esus. Shiloh also was here, where 
the Tabernacle was first set up. A palm-tree, under which you 
will by and by read that Deborah judged or governed Israel, was 
in the land of this tribe. Samaria, a famous city, was also here, 
and Jacob’s well, where Christ talked with the woman of Samaria. 

In the lot of Manasseh, the daughters of Zelophehad had a 
share, of which you have before read, “ And they came near be- 
fore Eleazar, the priest, and before Joshua, the son of Nun, and 
before the princes, saying, The Lord commanded Moses to give 
as an inheritance among our brethren ; therefore, according to the 




CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


commandment of the Lord, he gave them an inheiitance among 
the brethren of their father.” 

The tribe of Manasseh were faulty like the other tribes we 
have named, for they did not drive all the Canaanites out of their 
lot, but only made them tributary,, or, in other words, obliged 
them to pay some money, or do some works for them every 
year, for which they were to live free from all attacks. 

To this tribe Gideon belonged, of whose exploits we shall soon 
read. 

The children of Joseph, Manasseh, and Ephraim, murmured 
at their lot ; for, although they were powerful, they did not like 
the Canaanites who lived in the land of the valley, or flat land, 
which they had to conquer, for they had war-chariots of iron, 
which were very terrible. 

As you have several times read of these frightful war-chariots 
of iron, here is a picture of one anciently used by the Greeks, 



328 child’s commentator. 


and of the same kind. You see it has scythes fastened to the 
wheels and to other parts, and spears in front, so that besides the 
men it carried, who used bows and arrows, and spears, it was a 
dreadfully destructive weapon ; when the horses, all cased with 
iron, or brass, or other metal dresses, rushed in among the ranks 
of an enemy, which the scythes would mow down like grass. 
These weapons are not now used, for the horses would not rush 
in amongst guns, but would be likely to turn back upon their 
own masters. 

Joshua, however, told the children of Joseph not to fear, for, 
said he, “ thou shalt drive out the Canaanites, though they have 
iron chariots, and though they be strong.” 

In the eighteenth chapter we find the Tabernacle, which had 
been often pitched and removed with the camp of Israel, fixed in 
Shiloh, a city in the lot of Ephraim, and lying in the centre of 
the country now belonging to Israel, that Israel might meet there 
to worship God. And at Shiloh it remained for three hundred 
and twenty-five years, till the sin of the house of Eli, a priest, 
caused it to be removed. j* 

Seven tribes were yet unprovided for, and Joshua sent out | 
three men from each tribe to view the land, and, when they re- I] 
turned, he divided it amongst them. | 

Benjamin’s lot included Jericho and Gilgal, of which we have 
read. Bethel was also here, and Gibeon. 

Simeon’s lot included Beersheba and Ziklag, of which we shall 
read when we come to the history of David. 

In Zebulon’s lot was Mount Carmel, in which Elijah, the 
prophet, afterwards put to shame the priests of Baal. Here also 
was Nazareth, where Jesus spent so much time when he was upon 
earth, and the coast of the sea of Galilee, where he preached, and 
Mount Tabor, where he was transfigured, or showed forth his glory. 

In Issachar’s lot was Jezreel, where was afterwards Ahab’s 
palace, and also Shunem, where lived the Shunammite that enter- 
tained Elisha, and the mountains of Gilboa, on which Saul and 
Jonathan were slain. 

In Asher’s lot was no famous place, but very near it were the 
famous Tyre and Sidon, of which we often read in the Bible, and 




SHILOH 





"ms avaa m 








3#§s 



child’s commentator. 331 

some suppose that the Canaanites took refuge there when they 
were driven out of Canaan. 

In the lot of Naphtali stood Capernaum and Bethsaida, in which 
Christ did so many mighty works. 

Lastly, to the lot of Dan fell the rich country near which was 
the valley of Eschol, where the spies gathered the famous bunch 
of grapes. 

And now Joshua had a right to some portion for himself, and 
he chose Timnath-serah, in Mount Ephraim, which was his own 
tribe, and near to Shiloh where the ark was, and near which 
Joshua loved to dwell ; for the good man always loves the spot 
where God is worshipped. So Joshua built the city which had 
been broken down, and dwelt therein.* 


I 

THE TWENTIETH CHAPTER OF JOSHUA, TO THE END OF THE BOOK. 

Three more Cities of Refuge — Cities given to the Levites — Return 
home of the two Tribes and a half — Death of Joshua. 

“So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inherit- 
ance.” — Chap. xxiv. 28. 




You recollect that Moses had set apart three cities on the other 
side Jordan, for cities of refuge, called Bezer, Ramoth, and Go- 
lan, and now Joshua fixes on three other cities in the land of Ca- 
naan. As I have already told you about these cities, I need only 
name those added by Joshua and the princes of Israel. “And 
they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in Mount Naphtali, and She- 
chem in Mount Ephraim, and Kirjath-arba (which is Hebron) in 
the mountain of Judah.” 


* For many observations on the last two chapters, the author is Indebted to Matthew 
Henry. 



332 


chjld’s commentator. 


No part of the country had as yet been given to the Levites, 
and now forty-eight cities were divided amongst them out of the 
lots of all the tribes. 


You recollect also that an army of the Reubenites, the Gadites, 
and the half tribe of Manasseh, had left their lands on the other 
side Jordan, that they might help their brethren in conquering 
Canaan ; and having honourably kept their word, as all good men 
will do, Joshua now sends them home, charging them to love the 
Lord, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments. “ And 
when Joshua sent them away also unto their tents, then he bless- 
ed them. And he spake unto them, saying, Return with much 
riches unto your tents, and with very much cattle, with silver and 
with gold, and with brass and with iron, and with very much rai- 
ment : divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.” 

You see that nothing is lost by serving God ; for this war was 
under his command, to punish the wicked nations of Canaan, and 
in doing it, the Israelites had obeyed the divine will. 

When the tribes that were sent home reached the river Jordan, 
which they had to cross, they built a great altar, probably on 
their own side, which they intended should be a monument for 
future times, to remind their children, and their brethren’s chil- 
dren, of the other tribes, that they all served the one true God 
and not the gods of the heathen. 

They had not, however, told their brethren in Canaan what 
they were going to do, and seeing this great altar built, these 
supposed that the two tribes and a half were going to worship 
God there, contrary to his command, that they should take all 
their burnt-offerings and sacrifices to the place which he should 
choose, which was Shiloh. (See Deuteronomy xii. 5, 6, 7.) Im- 
mediately all the people assembled at Shiloh, that they might go 
to war with their brethren, to punish them for their disobedi- 
ence ; for they would not now pass by even their own brethren, 
if they were wicked, without chastising them. 

However, they remembered that God had commanded them 
always to inquire and make search, that they might be sure in 



such a case, and not destroy the innocent. So they sent Phine- 
has, the son of Eleazar the priest, and ten princes, one chief of 
each house, and they asked their brethren what mischief they had 
been doing. And they told them how God had before punished 
Israel for not minding his laws, when Zimri and the Midianitish 
woman were slain, and twenty-four thousand people died of the 
plague in one day ; and also about Achan taking what God had 
forbidden any one to touch, for which wrath came upon Israel. 
This showed that God’s chastisements had now done them good, 
since they were afraid of again offending him. 

Then the two tribes and a half told their brethren that they 
were quite mistaken, that they had no wish to offend that God 
who had been so good to them, but only meant that the altar 
should be there to remind their children of the altar of the true 
God at Shiloh, whom they all now loved and served. 

J So Phinehas and the other messengers returned to their breth- 
ren, and when the mistake w r as explained, “The thing pleased the 
l children of Israel, and the children of Israel blessed God, and did 
$ not intend to go up against them in battle, to destroy the land 

I wherein the children of Reuben and Gad dwelt. And the chil- 

| dren of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar Ed : 

1 (which means a witness) — for, said they, “ it shall be a witness 
between us, that the Lord is God.” 


“ And it came to pass a long time after that the Lord had 
given rest to Israel from all their enemies round about, that 
Joshua waxed (or became) old and stricken (or advanced) in 
age.” So he sent for all the chief men of Israel, and he exhort- 
ed them, as they would be safe and happy, that they would all 
mind and serve God. And he again gathered together all the 
heads of the tribes of Israel, and he told them of all that God had 
done for them in old time ; and what he had done in Canaan, 
where he had sent the hornets, or great wasps, to sting and drive 
out their enemies, instead of their always slaying them with the 
sword ; and where he had given them a land full of fruit without 
their labour, and cities and houses to live in, which they had 




never built. And Joshua entreated them to serve so good a God, 
and told them that if they served strange gods it would be to their 
hurt. “And the people said unto Joshua, the Lord our God will 
we serve, and his voice will we obey.” So Joshua made a cove- 
nant, or solemn agreement, with the people that day, that they 
would serve God with all their hearts. And he wrote their pro- 
mise in a book, and set up a great stone, under an oak, near the 
sanctuary of the Lord, that it might be a witness to remind them 
of what they had promised to do, and that they might see it as 
often as they went to worship: “ And Joshua said unto all the 
people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us ; for it hath 
heard all the words of the Lord, which he spake unto us.” A 
stone, indeed, could not hear; but Joshua meant, that it was 
there when he spoke to Israel, and, as it would stand for some 
ages, it should be as good a witness as if it knew every word that 
was spoken, inasmuch as his own hand had set it up on the occa- 
[( sion. “ It shall be, therefore,” said he, “ a witness unto you, 
t Q lest ye deny your God.” 

'si “And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua, the son 
of Nun, the servant of the Lord died, being an hundred and ten 
years old. And they buried him in the border of his inheritance, 
in Timnath-serah, which is in mount Ephraim, on the north side 
of the hill of Gaash.” 

About this time the bones of Joseph, which had been brought 
out of Egypt, were buried “ in Shechem, in a parcel of ground 
which Jacob had bought of the sons of Hamor, the father of She- 
chem, for an hundred pieces of silver, and it became the inherit- 
ance of the children of Joseph.” 

Now, too, Eleazar the priest, and “ the son of Aaron died, and 
they buried him in a hill that pertained to Phinehas his son 
which was given him in mount Ephraim.” 

Thus, my dear young reader, good men die one after another ; 
but while their bodies lie in the grave and turn to dust, till God 
shall raise them all fresh and beautiful, their spirits return to Him 
whom they love *, and, after having served him on earth, they 
now serve him in heaven, where they are happy with him fo* 
ever and ever. 




THE BOOK OF JUDGES, 

OR 

THE HISTORY OF THE GENERALS WHO RULED AND COM- 
MANDED ISRAEL AFTER THE DEATH OF JOSHUA. 


THE FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD CHAPTERS OF JUDGES. 

King Adoni-bezek punished — Othniel judges Israel — Ehud judges 
and kills king Eglon — Shamgar kills the Philistines with an 
ox-goad . 

“ And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he deli- 
vered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and 
he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so 
that they could not any longer stand before their enemies. 

“ Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against 
them for evil, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had 
sworn unto them ; and they were greatly distressed. 

“Nevertheless the Lord raised up judges, which delivered them 
out of the hand of those that spoiled them.” — Chap. ii. 14 — 16. 


Before we begin the Book of Judges, I must just tell you, that 
Judges here do not mean such judges as we have, who are only 
to sit in courts of law, and see that justice is done to those who 
are tried before them ; but, as I have said at the head of the 
chapter, the judges of the Israelites were rulers and chiefs, and. 




336 CHILD'S COMMENTATOR. 

when the Israelites were in distress because of the attacks of the 
Canaanites which yet remained, the Lord raised up these men to 
deliver Israel and lead them to battle. 

Some time after the death of Joshua, and when the Israelites 
were more in number, they asked counsel of the Lord about going 
to battle to get more of the land from the Canaanites which re- 
mained. And God commanded J udah to attack them. 

Judah then got the tribe of Simeon to join with them, and pro- 
mised to help them to make them stronger in return, when they 
needed aid. We should always try and do kindnesses to one 
another. 

The Canaanites were soon beaten, and king Adoni-bezek was 
taken prisoner. This king must have been a great conqueror, 
but now he is conquered, and as he had done to others, so God 
now suffered it should be done to him. He had no less than 
i threescore and ten, which is three twenties and ten, that is, seventy 

! kings, who were his prisoners, and these he used to feed with what 

1 1 was left, as they sat under his table, having first cruelly mangled i 

them by cutting off their thumbs and their great toes. What he 
/ had done to them the Israelites now did to him, which was, no l 

[ doubt, an act of God’s justice, or else such cruelty would have J 

been very wicked. The king himself felt that God had done f 

this : “ And Adoni-bezek said, Threescore and ten kings, having 
their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their meat un- 
der my table : as I have done, so God hath requited me. And 
they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.” 

This should teach you and me to do unto others as we would 
that they should do unto us, were we in the like situation ; for, 
had this king not been so cruel to others, he would, perhaps, not 
have suffered so himself ; at all events, he would have been spared 
the reproaches of his own conscience, which now told him how 
cruelly he had behaved to those who fell into his hands. 

Judah’s part of Jerusalem was now completely conquered, a 
king of which city Joshua had before taken. The tribe of Judah 
also took Hebron, and Gaza, and Askelon, and Ekron, and other 
places. Indeed, they beat all that dwelt in the mountains, but 
there were some that dwelt in the valleys who used iron war 




child’s commentator. 


537 


chariots, which could not be used in the mountains, and the tribe 
of J udah were foolishly frightened at them, “ because they had 
chariots of iron,” as if these could save them, when God had re- 
solved to destroy them. So, on account of their cowardice, they 
could hot drive out the inhabitants of the valley, and they re 
mained to be their plagues. 

You will here find the same story, about Caleb’s giving his 
daughter to Othniel to be his wife, which was told in the fifteenth 
of Joshua, when Caleb’s name was mentioned as receiving his lot 
among the children of Judah, to which tribe he belonged. 

I have said that Judah’s part of Jerusalem was conquered, for 
this city stood partly in the lot of Judah, and partly in the lot of 
Benjamin, and Judah had only taken their own part, which w'as 
the southern part, but the northern part they left for the tribe of 
Benjamin to conquer, but they did not drive out the Jebusites 
who dwelt there ; and there they remained when the Book of 
Judges was written. 


Then the house of Joseph took Bethel, part of which belonged 
to Benjamin, and the other part to Ephraim. The tribe of Ma- 
nasseh were very indolent, and left the Canaanites to hold several 
cities in their lot. Ephraim, also, neglected Gezer, a large city, 
and left the Canaanites to dwell there. Zebulun were alike care- 
less about enlarging their lot, and only made the Canaanites in it 
to pay them some taxes for letting them alone. As for those 
of Asher, they even dwelt among the Canaanites, and let them 
hold their lot. Naphtali did the same, except that they made 
the people pay them something for remaining quiet. Dan was 
forced into the mountains, and durst not go into the valleys 
given to them. 

We shall see by and by what the Israelites got by their cow 
ardice and neglect in not taking all of the lots which Joshua 
had given them, and what miseries they brought upon them- 
selves by living among the Canaanites. What ease or advan- 
tage soever we may get by living among wicked people, we shall 
be sure to suffer for it in the end ; and therefore all good people 
try to avoid their company, and never unite with them any more 
than they can help. 



338 



child’s commentator. 


God now sent an angel, or messenger, who w T as either a pro* 
phet, or the same divine person who had before appeared to Ja- 
cob and Joshua ; and he told the people how’ they had sinned 
against God by sparing the Canaanites, whom he had commanded 
them to destroy, and that now they should be as thorns in their 
sides, which would wound them severely, and their gods should 
be a snare to them, and they w r ould fall into the sin of idolatry, 
or worshipping of them. 

Ai this message the Israelites all wept, and they called the 
spot by the name Bochim, which signifies weepers, and they sac- 
rificed there unto the Lord. This Bochim was, probably, that 
place which was before called Shiloh, as they now sacrificed to 
the Lord there ; and they would have done w r rong to have sacri- 
ficed to him except where he had commanded his' altar to be built. 

We are then told about the people’s history, which goes back 
to Joshua’s days, when the people served the Lord ; and then w r e 
are told what they did after his death : “ They did evil in the 
sight of the Lord, and served Baalim,” or false gods. And God 
was angry w r ith them, and he delivered them into the hands of 
their enemies. Then w r hen they cried to God, he sent them 
judges or generals to save them ; and, when these died, they re- 
turned again and again to their wickedness. So God left the na- 
tions of Canaan to plague and to humble them. These were called 
Canaanites, Philistines, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, 
Jebusites, and other names. 

Now r , w r hen Israel “ took their daughters to be their wives, and 
gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods,” the 
anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, that is to say, he treated 
Israel as one would treat another when his anger is hot ; though, 
as I think I have before told you, God cannot be moved with 
anger, and sin as w T e do. 

Well, to show Israel how much he was displeased, he sold 
them, or parted with them, so as no longer to take special care 
of them, and let the king of Mesopotamia rule over them, w T hich 
he did for eight years. But, w r hen they found that he treated 
them very cruelly, then they cried to the Lord, and he was so 
kind that he pitied them, though they had behaved so ill towards 




child’s commentator. 


339 


him, and he gave his spirit to Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s 
younger brother, “ and he judged Israel and went out to war,’' 
and God delivered Israel from the cruel king, and “ the land had 
rest forty years.” 

After Othniel, the first judge, was dead, “ the children of Israel 
did evil again in the sight of the Lord.” 0 what a wicked peo- 
ple were they ! and yet, my reader, how often do we repeat our 
offences against God after we have said we would do so no more. 
How merciful is God that he still spares us, and is still ready to 
pardon us for Christ’s sake ! 

God now “ strengthened Eglon, the king of Moab, against Israel.” 

And he smote Israel, and the* people served him eighteen years. 

Then Israel cried to God again, and O what a God is he to 
hear prayer ! for when they prayed to him in earnest, — which is 
what is meant by crying to God, — then he raised up another de- 
liverer. This was “ Ehud, the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man 
left-handed,” or, as some suppose, who could use his left hand as 
well as his right. 

This Ehud was sent from the children of Israel to take a pres- 
ent, or as it is thought, to take the taxes which Eglon had made 
Israel pay. So Ehud made a dagger of two edges, as long as his 
arm, and he put it under his garments, on his right thigh. The 
sword is mostly put on the left side, but that is for the purpose of 
being drawn by the right hand ; here it was put to be drawn by 
his left hand ; and' perhaps he might bind it for the use of his left 
hand, to escape any observation that he wore one. When Ehud 
had offered the present, he sent away the people that were with 
him, and then going back, he said to the king, “ I have a secret 
errand for thee, 0 king.” The king thought he had something 
very important to say, and commanded all to be silent, and then | 
sent his state servants away. Eglon was in a lonely room, built 
for the sake of quiet, and made very airy and cool, to use in the 
summer, in that part of the world where it is so hot. Then Ehud 
went near to him and said, “ I have a message from God un 
to thee ” The king rose to receive him with respect, and at that 
moment he ran him through the body, and being a very fat man, 
he fell*heavily and died, yet no one heard, what had happened. 





840 


child’s commentator. 


Ehud now shut the doors and locked them, and took the key, and 
passing quietly by the guards, he escaped. 

The servants now returned to attend the king, but, finding the 
doors fast, they thought the king was asleep. “ He covereth his 
feet,” said they ; for, as they wore slippers, when they went to 
sleep on a sofa, they dropped them, and wrapped them round in 
the tail of their long garment. At length, however, after waiting 
a very long time, the servants feared that all was not right, and 
having got a key they opened the doors, “ And, behold their lord 
was fallen down dead on the earth.” 

All this time Ehud was getting safely away, and, having escaped 
to his people, he blew a trumpet in mount Ephraim, and he said 
to the children of Israel that came to him, “ Follow after me; for 
the Lord hath delivered your enemies, the Moabites, into your 
hands.” Now the Moabites had, probably, placed soldiers among 
the Israelites to keep them in slavery ; so the Israelites went to 
the fords of Jordan, or places where they must pass home, and, as 
the Moabitish soldiers were trying to return home on hearing of 
the death of their king, Ehud slew them. “And they slew of 
Moab, at that time, about ten thousand men, all lusty, and all men 
of valour ; and there escaped not a man” of all that had been op- 
pressing Israel. “ And the land had rest fourscore (or eighty) years.” 

For any man now to do what Ehud did it would be murder ; 
but he was the man whom God raised up to to punish a wicked 
king, and act as his judge ; and God showed his approval of what 
he did by saving Israel through his deed. 

After Ehud was “ Shamgar, the son of Anath, which slew of 
the Philistines six hundred men with an ox-goad : and he also de- 
livered Israel.” 

Some think that Shamgar was only a commander under Ehud, 
and not a judge. He was, however, a brave man. The Philis- 
tines were very troublesome neighbours to the Israelites, and 
plundered them wherever they could get at them, so that, in the 
fifth chapter, we read that in the days of Shamgar, “ the highways 
were unoccupied ;” that is, people were afraid of going on the great 
roads, lest they should meet the Philistine robbers, “ and the tra- 
vellers walked through bye-ways,” or roads not generally used- 



child’s commentator. 


341 


Shamgar, like most of the Israelites, was engaged in working 
his fields, when some of the Philistines came, perhaps, to take 
away his crops. So Shamgar and his companions fought them, 
relying upon God for strength to drive them away ; and he, being 
a strong man, seized an ox-goad, which used to be about three 
yards long, with an iron pike at one end, to drive the ox, and a 
sharp spade at the other end, to clean the plough. With this he 
himself slew six hundred men; they having, no doubt, soon 
taken flight, and been pursued by Shamgar and his friends. This 
courageous defence delivered Israel from these robbers. 


THE FOURTH, FIFTH, SIXTH, SEVENTH, AND EIGHTH CHAPTERS OF 

JUDGE8. 

Deborah a Prophetess , and Barak , judge Israel — The woman Jael 
kills Sisera , a great Captain — The triumphant Song of Deborah 
and Barak — Gideon judges Israel — Gideon's Exploits and 
Death . 

“ So let all thine enemies perish, O Lord : but let them that love 
him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might.” — Chap, 
v. 31. 


“ And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the 
Lord, when Ehud was dead.” They did evil again. Oh, how 
many times they did evil ! Alas ! my reader, and so do we. O, 
what should we do, if God did not pardon sin for Christ’s sake ! 
Yet we must not sin because God is so ready to pardon ; this is, 
indeed, to be wicked ; but we must pray that when he is so ready 
to forgive us, we may “ go and sin no more.” 

As former punishment did not cure the children of Israel, they 
were again made slaves, and obliged to work to pay heavy taxes 
to a foreign king called Jabin, who reigned in a place called Hazor, 
and he was very powerful, “ for he had nine hundred chariots of iron, 
and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.” 



342 


child’s commentator. 


So God raised up Deborah a prophetess, a woman to whom he 
gave his Spirit to foretell things. And, when Israel again cried 
unto the Lord, she foresaw their deliverance. And she sent for 
Barak, and told him to command the armies, and what he should 
do, and how God would help him. So at her desire he collected 
“ ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali, and of the chil- 
dren of Zebulun,” and at Barak’s request she went with them to 
direct them, because God had given her so much wisdom. 

Now Sisera, the chief general, or commander-in-chief of the 
armies of Jab in, soon heard what Barak was doing, and he 
collected all his chariots of iron, nine hundred in number, 
and a large army of foot soldiers ; and he thought probably 
that he could surround the Israelites who were on the Mount 
Tabor. 

Jewish writers say, that when Barak saw the large army of 
Jabin, he was quite frightened, but Deborah encouraged him, and 
said, “ This is the day in which the Lord hath delivered Sisera 
into thine hand.” So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and 
ten thousand men after him. “And the Lord discomfited, or- 
defeated, Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the 
edge of the sword, before Barak so that, in order to get away 
faster, “ Sisera lighted down off his chariot and fled away on his 
feet. But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host.” 
“ And all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword, and 
there was not a man left.” 

Sisera ran away from his army, and being invited by a woman 
named Jael, he hid himself in her tent, and “she covered him 
over with a mantle or cloak.” And he was very thirsty with 
fatigue, and asked her for a little water, when she opened a bot- 
tle and gave him some milk. Now he was quite inclined to 
sleep, being so much tired with fighting and running ; and he 
begged Jael, if any one asked about him, to say that he was not 
there. Jael, however, did not promise any such thing, for she 
knew it would be a wicked lie. 

As soon as Sisera was asleep, she took a long nail, which was 
used in fastening the tent, and she boldly drove it into his tem- 
pies, so as to fasten his head into the ground. 






CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


343 


Barak was seeking after Sisera, but could not find him. At 
last he came near Jael’s tent, and she ran to meet him, and told 
him she would show him his enemy ; and there lay the general 
dead, with the nail driven through his head. 

This would have been a very wicked and treacherous act, had 
not Jael, no doubt, been prompted to do it, as an act of justice to 
God’s foes, and the foes of his people. 

And now the Israelites were resolved to rid the country of this 
tyrant of Canaan. And the hand of the children of Israel 
prospered, and prevailed against Jabin, king of Canaan, until 
they had destroyed Jabin, king of Canaan.” 

Then, according to the custom of the times, the conquerors 
made a song of victory to sing of the defeat of Sisera ; and that 
this deliverance might not be forgotten, but be remembered as in 
a history. You may read this song in the fifth chapter of Judges, 
But you must remember that it is poetry ; and in poetry we may 
talk in what we call figures ; and make trees, and mountains, and 
rivers, to do things which, in reality, they do not, but which are 
intended to show other things in a way that is more grand than 
any we can describe in prose. So here you will read of the 
mountains melting and the stars fighting ; the former meaning 
that difficulties as great as getting over high mountains were 
overcome ; and the latter, that God made even the stars to help 
his Israel when they prayed to him, perhaps by their brightly 
shining on the night of Sisera’s defeat, and on future occasions, so 
as to aid Israel in pursuing their enemies. 

This song also goes back to the former state of Israel and God’s 
deliverances. When none could live in villages for fear of being 
killed by their oppressors ; when they forgot God and chose new 
gods — the false gods of the heathen made of wood or of stone ; 
and when their foes had so subdued them, that out of forty thou 
sand men, not one had a shield or spear to fight with in his 
defence, their enemies having taken all their arms away. 

Then Deborah and Barak say, “ Speak, ye that ride on white 
asses,” meaning the rich people, who rode on them as ours do on 
fine horses. “ Bless ye the Lord.” No archers now infest you, as 
they used to do at the wells, when you went to water your flocks 



child’s commentator. 


344 

your enemies drove you away and took your water, but now you 
may lead them in peace to “ the places of drawing water.” 

Then, the song tells of those tribes that behaved bravely in op- 
posing their enemies ; and of Reuben, who were divided among 
themselves, and lived in their sheep-folds, instead of helping their 
brethren ; and of Dan and Asher, who minded their ships on the 
sea-coast, and cared not for their brethren surrounded by ene- 
mies ; and of the people of Meroz, who would not help in a time 
of need. These were named, that they might be thought of with 
disgrace, because they did not as God bid them, in driving the 
Canaanites out of the land. 

Lastly, the victory over Sisera is sung, which 1 think you can, 
by a little reflection, perfectly understand. 


Again, we find Israel doing evil, “ and the Lord delivered them 
into the hand of Midian seven years. And the Israelites were 
so cruelly treated, that they left their towns, and went and hid 
in caves or hollow places in the rocks. For, when they had 
sown their land, the Midianites wantonly destroyed the crop, and 
left no food for man or beast. 

Now Israel cried again to God, and they never cried in vain, 
for he will hear sincere prayer. 

And God sent a prophet to the children of Israel, to tell them 
of their sins in forsaking him, and to cheer them. And an angel 
of the Lord appeared to Gideon, the son of Joash, as he threshed 
wheat by the wine press, that the Midianites might not find it 
out. “ And the Lord looked upon him and said, Go in this thy 
might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midian 
ites ; have not I sent thee ]” 

And Gideon asked for some sign, that he might be sure he was 
right in trying to become a judge of Israel. Then he -went and 
got something for the angel to eat, not knowing that he was an 
angel, as he looked like a man. And when he brought out a kid 
and some cakes, the angel told him to put them on a rock which 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 345 

was close by, and he touched them with a staff, which he had in 
his hand, and fire came out of the rock and consumed them. 

Then the angel vanished away, and Gideon knew by this sign 
that he was no,t a man. 

Gideon was now frightened, and he thought as he had seen an 
angel, that he should die, but God spoke to his mind, “ Thou 
shalt not die.” And Gideon was then satisfied, and built an altar 
to praise God, and he called it Jehovah-shalom, which means, 
The Lord peace ; or, as we understand it, “ The Lord send 
peace.” 

On the same night God commanded Gideon to throw down 
his father’s altar, built to the false god, Baal : and to cut down 
the grove that was planted round it, and to build an altar to Him, 
and sacrifice the bullock upon it. So Gideon did so by night, 
and took ten of his father’s servants to help him. 

In the morning the men of the city saw what Gideon had done, 
but they did not know who did it. And at last they found out 
that it was Gideon, and they were very angry, and wanted to kill 
him. But Gideon’s father said, “ Let Baal kill him if he can, but 
do not you kill kim and you know, young reader, that a wooden 
god could not, and so his father saved his life ; and he called his 
name, after that, Jerubbaal, whicft means, let Baal plead, that is, 
let Baal defend himself. 

Now the Midianites and the Amalekites pitched in the valley 
of Jezreel, and the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he 
blew the war-trumpet, and called many of the tribes of Israel to 
help him. And he would fain know if God was pleased with 
what he was doing, and so he asked God for two signs. First, he 
would put a piece of fleece of wool off a sheep’s back upon the 
floor, and if the wool w'ere all wet, and the floor dry, he should 
believe that God was with him to help him ; and the fleece was 
so wet, that he wrung a bowl full of water out of it, while the 
floor was dry. Still Gideon did not know what to do, and he 
asked God for another sign, and that was to be the reverse of 
this, for the fleece should be dry, and the floor wet ; “ and God 
did so that night : for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there 
was dew upon all the ground.” 


346 


CHILD 6 COMMENTATOR. 


These were miracles, or things out of the course of nature, and 
not to be done by man at all — for who could know the secret 
wish of Gideon’s mind ? — nor to be done by God, but on any 
wonderful occasion. And, by these miracles, Gideon was en- 
couraged to prepare himself to deliver Israel. 

Gideon now took his army and pitched by the side of the well 
of Harod. And God told Gideon that he had too many soldiers, 
for they would be apt to be proud after the victory, and to say, 
“ Mine own hand hath saved me so Gideon was to tell all that 
were afraid to go back to their homes, and out of thirty -two 
thousand, only ten thousand remained behind, twenty-two thou- 
sand being afraid. Still there were too many ; so God command- 
ed Gideon to take them to the water to drink, and some lapped, 
or dipped up the water with their hands, and then lapped it with 
their tongues, while the others knelt down to drink it, and God 
told Gideon that those who lapped should go with him to the 
battle, and no more. How many do you suppose there were 
that God would have to fight a great army of the Midianites 1 
Why, only three hundred ! So the people took victuals in their 
hand, and their trumpets, and Gideon sent all the rest away ; 
“ and the host of Midian was beneath him in the valley.” 

The same night the Lord told Gideon that he was to beat the 
Midianites, but if he had still any fear, he was to take a compan- 
ion, and go and visit their camp in secret. And he did so, and 
the enemy covered the ground, and their camels which carried 
their luggage were too many in number. •> 

Now, a Midianitish soldier dreamt that a cake of barley -bread 
tumbled into the host of Midian, and overturned a tent. And he 
told it to his fellow-soldier that was near him, and he said, “ This 
is the sword of Gideon,” “ for into his hand hath God delivered 
Midian and all his host.” Gideon was near and heard this, for 
God made the soldier dream, and taught the other to explain it, 
and caused Gideon to hear it, that his heart might not be afraid 
So Gideon worshipped God, and returned full of courage. 

And now he took an odd method to fight the Midianites. He 
divided his three hundred men into three companies of one hundred 
each ; “ and he put a trumpet in every man’s hand, with empty 

















child’s commentator. 


349 




pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers, and he ordered every 
man to do every thing that he should do.” 

So about midnight, when the Midianites were fast asleep, he 
marched quietly with his little army to the outside of their camp. 
And he blew his trumpet, and all the three hundred blew theirs. 
And then he smashed his pitcher, and all the rest smashed theirs, 
which they held in their left hands. And, lo, in a moment there 
were three hundred lights ! And then they shouted, “ The sword 
of the Lord and of Gideon.” No wonder that the Midianites were 
afraid, especially as God had resolved to destroy them, for they 
must have thought, at the moment, that there was a large army 
indeed behind, when there were no less than three hundred 
trumpeters, and three hundred light-bearers besides, as they 
probably imagined. So, they thought their best w ay was to flee ; 
indeed, when a man awakes out of sleep in a fright, he hardly 
knows what to do. “ All the host ran, and cried, and fled.” And 
every man killed his fellow, not knowing him from a foe. 

And Gideon sent for the men of Ephraim to pursue after the 
flying army, and they did so, and they took and slew Oreb and 
Zeeb, two Midianitish princes. 

The Ephraimites were, however, very angry with Gideon, that 
they had not been called sooner to battle ; but Gideon said, “ Is 
not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage 
of Abiezer ?” Here he spoke in what we call a figure, and com- 
pared the field of battle to a vineyard, and told the children of 
Ephraim that they need not be dissatisfied, for they had gleaned 
more from what was left for them, than the men of Abiezer, who 
formed the most part of his little army, had got from all the vin- 
tage or crop of grapes : meaning that after the battle was fought, 
Ephraim had taken the greatest spoils, “ For,” said he, “ God 
hath delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and 
Zeeb : and what was I able to do in comparison of you ? Then 
their anger was abated toward him, when he had said that.’’ Had 
he been a foolish boaster, and said, “ What fine things I have 
done !” he would both have displeased God, who gave him the 
victory, and have made them angry. 

Gideon and his three hundred men went after the enemy, as 





350 child’s commentator. 

well as did the Ephraimites, and they crossed the river Jordan 
very faint with fatigue. And Gideon asked the people of Succoth 
for some loaves for his men, but they would not give him any ; 
fearing perhaps that the Midianites might return and punish them 
for helping Gideon. Then he asked the people of another place 
called Penuel, but they also refused him. So he told the men of 
Succoth he would make them smart for their cruelty to his poor 
troops, on his return; and the men of Penuel should have their 
strong tower knocked about their ears. Now, if this had been 
petty revenge, it would have been wrong, but Gideon was now a 
judge, and he threatened them on account of his office. 

Having finished his pursuit, and taken two kings of Midian, 
after whom he was in search, he returned and punished seventy- 
seven of the ruling men of Succoth, who had behaved so cruelly 
to his people, and they were whipped with thorns and briers. 
And he “ beat down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of 
the city.” 

Zebah and Zalmunna had been to Tabor, and had slain Gideon’s 
brothers there, whom they might have taken prisoners only. 
Gideon, having heard this, asked them about it, and they con- 
fessed the fact. Then he ordered his eldest son to slay them, 
but being a youth, he was timid and could not. They then asked 
Gideon to do it, that they might fall by more noble hands; and 
they thought, he being a strong man, that they should die in- 
stantly without pain. And Gideon killed them, and he took the 
ornaments from the necks of their camels. 

The people of Israel were delighted with Gideon’s bravery and 
success, and asked him to be their king, but he would not. 

To keep up the remembrance of this victory, ho asked them to 
give him the golden ear-rings which they had taken from the 
Midianites, and he made out of them a sacred garment, called an 
Ephod ; partly, perhaps, mixing the gold with the garment, and 
paying for other costly materials with the rest. This ephod, if 
nothing else was made out of the gold, was worth more than 
three thousand pounds. But some think that he made a little 
tabernacle with it, putting in it all 'the furniture for worship. In 
doing so he did what was wrong, because God had fixed one 



child’s commentator. 351 


place at his command, for the purpose of worship, and none were 
to fix another. The consequence was, that the people made an 
idol of the ephod, and foolishly worshipped it. 

Gideon having died in a good old age, was buried in the 
sepulchre of Joash his father. But no sooner was he dead than 
all Israel went again after the false gods of the heathen ; and as 
for Gideon, they quite forgot him, and cared nothing for his 
family of seventy sons which he had left behind him, though, 
through his victories, the land had enjoyed quietness forty years. 


THE NINTH CHAPTER OF JUDGES. 

King Abimelech. 

“ And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the 
house of Milo, and went and made Abimelech king, by the 
plain of the pillar that was in Shechem.” — Ver. 6. 

And now Israel were all in confusion without a leader, and 
instead of being given up to foreign enemies, they were punished 
for their idolatry, by being let loose against each other. 

Besides his seventy sons, who were his heirs, Gideon left one 
by a ooncubine, or wife, whose son was not allowed to inherit or 
share any part of his property. This young man was, however, 
very ambitious, or desirous of being above all the rest in power. 
So he went to Shechem, where his mother’s brethren lived, and 
he persuaded them to make him king. “ For,” said he, “ if you 
do not choose me, you will have all Gideon’s other sons for kings, 
and is it not better to support one than seventy 1 Besides, I am 

f our relation, and they care nothing about you ; if I am king, 
may do you some service.” So they gave him money out of 
their idol’s temple, and he hired a set of base fellows to protect 
him, and he went and killed his brethren, that he might have the 




n 


352 


child’s commentator. 


throne to himself ; one only escaping out of the seventy, which 
was Jotham, the youngest son of Jerubbaal, or Gideon. 

Now Jotham was a wise young man, and he went and warned 
the people against his wicked half-brother. And he told them a 
parable, to get their attention. He said that the trees met to 
choose a king ; but the most noble trees, the olive, the fig-tree, 
and the vine, would not be kings, but chose to do good in a dif- 
ferent way ; but a bramble, which is a mean and scratching thing, 
and will tear you to pieces, had the audacity to accept of the ho- 
nour, and looked very great. Here he meant that neither his 
father, nor the other judges before him, would be made kings, but, 
at last, a mean and wicked man had taken the high rank which 
they refused. Well, if they ever prospered with such a king, 
they had done well, but time would soon prove. And when he 
had warned them he escaped. This is the oldest fable in the 
world ; which, under the representation of trees talking, con- 
cealed the talk of men, which all the while he meant. It is very 
amusing, and was very wise, for not at first knowing his mean- 
ing, the people heard all he had to say, which, had he spoken out 
at first, they would not have done. You may read the parable 
at length in this chapter. 

Abimelech had only reigned three years over Israel, when he 
quarrelled with the men of Shechem : and they used to rob 
Abimelech’s men as they met them on the roads, and they cursed 
Abimelech. So Abimelech went and fought them, and killed 
them all, and destroyed their city, and sowed it with salt, which 
was a sign then used that the city should be built no more. Still 
the tower of the city was not taken, so Abimelech took his men to 
the top of a mountain, and took an axe with him, and told them 
to do as he did ; and he cut down a large bough from a tree and 
put it on his shoulder, and his men did the same. And then they 
went to the tower, piled the huge heap of wood round it, set it on 
fire and burnt all the people that remained there, which were 
“ about a thousand men and women.” Then the king went to a 
place called Thebez, and took that, but the people fled to a strong 
tower which was in their city. And the king thought to burn 
this as he had done the other. So he went to the door to set th6 





child’s commentator. 353 

wood on fire, when a woman threw a large mill-stone from the 
top, and it fell upon his head and broke his skull. He had, how- 
ever, sense enough left to know who did it $ and, as he thought 
it was disgraceful to be killed by a woman, he begged his armour- 
bearer, or the man that carried his heavy shield, and perhaps his 
spear, that he would run him through, and he did so, and the 
king died. So God rewarded the wickedness of Abimelech in 
slaying his brethren, and the wickedness of the Shechemites in 
helping him to do so vile a deed ; “ and upon them came the 
curse of Jotham, the son of Jerubbaal,” as he had told them. 
“ The Lord is known by the judgments he executeth ; the wicked 
is snared by the work of his own hands.” 


THE TENTH, ELEVENTH, AND TWELFTH CHAPTERS OF JUDGES. 

Jeptha's Vow— The Ephraimites Slain. 

“ So Jeptha passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight 
against them, and the Lord delivered them into his hands.” — 
Chap. xi. 32. 


After Abimelech was dead there arose a new judge named 
Tola, and, in his time, which was during twenty-three years, 
things went on well in Israel. 

Jair, a Gileadite, followed him in his office, and judged Israel 
twenty -two years. And he had thirty sons that helped him, and 
rode on asses’ colts from place to place to see that things were 
properly done throughout the nation, and that no neighbour 
was unjust to another. 

After Jair died, Israel returned again to false gods. Then God 
let the Philistines afflict them, and they ana the Ammonites 
troubled them eighteen years. 

And a large army of the Ammonites marched against Israel, 
who were greatly frightened, and they cried to the Lord. And 




354 child’s commentator. 


the Lord, still gracious, heard them yet again. How good was he 
that he did not leave Israel to perish after they had so often for- 
saken him ! Then they confessed their sins, and trusting in God, 
they gathered an army to meet their enemies. But they had no 
general. So the princes or chiefs of Gilead offered to make him 
their ruler who would take the command of their armies. 

Jephthah, the Gileadite, was a mighty man of valour ; and he 
was, as some suppose, the son of a tavern-keeper, called here a 
harlot, and his mother w r as a strange woman, or a foreigner, so that 
his brethren, of another mother, would not allow him to share of 
their father Gilead’s property, and they drove him from home. 

As he was famed for his bravery, the Gileadites now thought of 
him, and they sent for him, and asked him to be their leader. 
Jephthah told them how ill they had used him, but if they would 
promise to obey his commands, he would come and aid them. 

So Jephthah sent to the king of the Ammonites, to ask why he 
had invaded or entered with armies into his country. And the 
king made some excuses about some quarrels which had happen- 
ed several hundred years before ; for when bad people want to 
quarrel, they can always find some excuse for it. 

Then Jephthah accused the king of intending wickedly to shed 
blood, and he appealed to God to be his help. You can read the 
particulars in the eleventh chapter of Judges. 

And now the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he re- 
solved to meet his foe. And he vowed to the Lord, that if he 
defeated him, he would, on his return, offer to him the first thing 
he met as a sacrifice of thanksgiving. 

He soon defeated the children of Ammon, and on his return 
was first met by his own and only daughter and child. It was 
often the custom for women to go out with music and dancing to 
meet the conqueror on his return. She went so to meet her fa. 
ther, and being the first object he saw, he remembered his vow, 
and he rent his clothes, which was the sign of great grief used 
among thejsraelites. 

“ Alas, my daughter !” said he, “ thou hast brought me very 
low, and thou art one of them that trouble me ; for I have opened 
my mouth unto the Lord, and cannot go back.” And she, a most 



child’s commentator. 355 

kind, obedient daughter, who loved her father, said unto him, 
“ My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the Lord, do to 
me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth ; 
forasmuch as the Lord hath taken vengeance for thee of thine 
enemies, even of the children of Amm’on.” 

Then she begged of her father to let her have two months to 
mourn over her earl}- separation from the world, and that she 
should die without being a mother, which was a grief to a woman 
of Israel, as each one hoped that the Messiah or Christ should be 
born in her family. 

“ At the end of the two months, she returned to her father, 
who did with her according to his vow.” 

Now, some suppose that she was slain and offered up for a 
burnt-offering ; but it is strange that any, and more so that many 
have had such a notion. The heathen offered human sacrifices, 
but God would have abhorred so brutal and unnatural a deed. 
Besides, Jephthah might have paid a ransom, and have rescued his 
daughter from death, if she had even been so vowed to the Lord. 
(See Leviticus, chap, xxvii. 4.) But she was only separated for 
ever from the world, and made a kind of priestess to serve God 
all the days of her life. And every year the daughters of Israel 
went to condole her on her misfortune, in being separated from 
the mothers of Israel. 

The Ephraimites, who had before quarrelled with Gideon, now 
quarrelled with Jephthah. It is very unfortunate to live with or 
near quarrelsome people, who make both themselves and others 
unhappy. They were offended that they had not been called to 
share in the triumphs of Jephthah, when he went out to battle, 
though, when he had before asked them, they would not go. So, 
they abused Jephthah and the Gileadites, and called them hard 
names, and represented them as a set of vagabonds. From words 
they came to blows, and a great battle was fought. The Ephraim- 
ites were beaten and ran away, and as they had to pass some of 
the fords of Jordan, where the water was most shallow, in order to 
get home, the Gileadites went and stopped there to meet them. 
And, as they tried to pass, they asked them if they were Ephraim- 
ites. To save their lives, they told a lie. and said— No. But 




356 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


this would not do. For there was a word which means a river 
or stream, which the Ephraimites pronounced in a particular way : 
this word was Shibboleth , but they called it Sibboleth, and could 
not pronounce the h. So, you know, in our own country, people 
of different counties sound some letters in different ways. 

Well, when the Ephraimites denied who they were, “Then,” 
said the Gileadites, “ say now Shibboleth,” but they said Sibbo- 
leth, for they could not frame their mouths to speak the word. 
So they were discovered, and were all slain. And a shocking 
havoc it was, for “ there fell at that time, of the Ephraimites, 
forty and two thousand.” 

And Jephthah judged Israel six years, “ and he died and was 
buried in one of the cities of Gilead.” 

After Jephthah, Ibzan was judge for seven years. 

After him, Elon for ten years. 

After him, Abdon for eight years. 

Then followed the famous strong man, Samson, of whose ex- 
ploits we shall next tell you. 


THE THIRTEENTH, FOURTEENTH, FIFTEENTH, AND SIXTEENTH 
CHAPTERS OF JUDGES. 

History of the Wonderful Heeds of Samson. 

“And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson : and 
the child grew, and the Lord blessed him.”— Chap. xiii. 24. 


The old and sad story is here again repeated, “ And the chil 
dren of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord, and the 
Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.” 
Here is sin again bringing sorrow ; whenever we do evil in the 
sight of the Lord, we must expect that sorrow will, sooner or 
later, be the consequence. 



child’s commentator. 


357 


While these evil doings were going on, God still had designs 
of mercy towards this guilty people. And he sent an angel to 
the wife of “ a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, 
whose name was Manoah,” and he told her that she should have 
a son, and that she must bring him up as a Nazarite ; that is, set 
him apart for God’s service, as he wanted to employ him. You 
remember reading about the law concerning the Nazarites in the 
sixth chapter of Numbers. 

Then Manoah himself wished to see this divine messenger, and 
so he prayed God to send him again, that he might know more 
about what he was to do with his son. And the angel appeared 
again to his wife, and she fetched her husband, and he saw the 
angel. 

As he appeared in the form of a man, perhaps Manoah took 
him for some great prophet sent from afar, so he asked him to 
eat, and begged him to wait till he got ready a kid for him. But 
the angel told him he would not eat, and if he chose to make 
any offering, he must do it to the Lord and not to him. Manoah 
then wanted to know his name, that, when his word came to 


pass, he might know who was the prophet. But the angel said 
his name was a secret. 


“ So Manoah took a kid with a meat-offering, and offered it 
upon a rock unto the Lord ; and the angel did wondrously, and 
Manoah and his wife looked on.” Probably he caused fire to arise 
out of the rock, and consume the sacrifice, for the next verse 
says, “ For it came to pass, when the flame went up towards 
heaven from off' the altar, that the angel of the Lord ascended in 
the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, 
and fell on their faces to the ground. But the angel of the Lord 
did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah 
knew that he was an angel of the Lord.” 

And now, as Gideon before, as we learn in the sixth chapter, 
having seen an angel, Manoah was greatly frightened, and thought 
he should instantly die, having the same notion, that such a sight 
was soon followed by death. But his wife comforted him, and 
said, “ If the Lord were pleased to kill us, he would not have 
received a burnt-offering and a meat-offering at our hands ; nei- 



358 


child’s commentator. 


ther would he have showed us all these things, nor would, as at 
this time, have told us such things as these.” 

So Samson was born, and grew up, “ and the Spirit of the 
Lord began to move him at times in the camp of Dan.” 

When Samson became a young man, he went to a place called 
Timnath, which belonged to the Philistines, and there he saw a 
young woman that he chose for his wife. This was against tbe 
commands of God (see Deut. vii. 3), but in this case, “ it was of 
the Lord,” to permit him to please his eye, as God overruled this 
event to make Samson the avenger of Israel against the Philistines. 

Samson’s father and mother told him that if he married a hea- 
then woman, he would do a very wrong thing ; but he would have 
his own way, and he felt the consequences of breaking God’s 
commands. “Get her forme,” said he, “for she pleaseth me 
well.” Ah, my young reader, take care of things that please 
you well ; sin sometimes pleases us well, but God will punish us 
well for it, and for ever, if we do not at last repent. 

Finding it of no use to argue with him, Manoah and his wife 
yielded, and went to Timnath to settle the matter. 

On the way to Timnath, Samson was met by a young lion 
that ran roaring at him. “ And the Spirit of the Lord came 
mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, 
and he had nothing in his hand : but he told not his father or his 
mother what he had done.” 

Then “ he went down, and talked with the woman ; and she 
pleased Samson well he liked her conversation as well as her 
person, and having settled matters, “ after a time he returned to 
take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion : and, 
behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of 
the lion. And he took thereof in his hands, and went on eating, 
and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they 
did eat : but he told not them that he had taken the honey out of 
the carcase of the lion,” for he meant to make a riddle from it, 
and that would have given them the clue. 

Samson’s father and mother went with Samson, and he made 
a feast on the occasion of his marHage, and thirty young men 
were invited to be at it. 





child’s commentator. 359 

Then they passed their time in making riddles and Samson 
gave one which he allowed the Philistines seven days to find out ; 
and he would then give them thirty sheets or dresses, in which 
the Easterns wrap themselves at night, and thirty changes of 
garments to wear by day, if they could tell its meaning ; but, if 
they could not, then they were to give him the like. 

Then he told his riddle, “ Oijt of the eater came forth meat, 
and out of the strong came forth sweetness.” So they puzzled 
in vain, for three days, to find out the riddle, and when they could 
not find it, they went to Samson’s wife and frightened her, and 
told her that they would burn her, and set fire to her father’s 
house, if she did not get Samson to tell her the meaning of his 
riddle. 

So Samson’s wife “ wept before him” till the seventh day 
came, and his heart was so touched, that at last he told her the 
j riddle, and she told the Philistines. 

Then the Philistines went to Samson on the seventh day, and 
gladly told him that they had found out the riddle; “What,” 
said they, “ is sweeter than honey ? and what is stronger than a 
lion ?”• “ If ye had not ploughed with my heifer,” said Samson, 

“ ye had not found out my riddle meaning, that if they had 
f! not used his wife to ask him, they would have been beaten. 

So “ the Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson, and he went 
down to Ashkelon and slew thirty men, and he took their spoil, 
and gave change of garments unto them which expounded the 
riddle.” So he made one Philistine to pay the other. 


Samson seems to have been angry that his wife had told her 
countrymen his secret, and so he left her at her father’s and went 
home. After a wdiile, however, he thought that he would go back 
for her ; but when he got to her father’s house, he found that her 
father had married her to another one of his companions, and 
wanted him to take her younger sister instead of her. 

Samson was then resolved that he would make the Philistines 
pay dear for their treatment ; so he went, perhaps assisted by others, 



360 



child’s commentator. 


$ 


and caught three hundred foxes, or jackals, somewhat resembling 
foxes, which he might be some days in collecting, “ and took fire- 
brands, and turned tail to tail, and put a fire-brand in the midst 
between two tails ; and when he had set the brands on fire, he let 
them go into the standing corn” (or corn that was growing, and, 
therefore, standing and not cut down) “ of the Philistines, and 
burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vine- 
yards and olives,” the latter being trees that produced them oil. 

The Philistines, finding that Samson had done them this mis- 
chief, and learning the reason why, then went and burnt his wife 
and her father, probably by setting fire to their dwelling, and so 
they thought that Samson would be contented as they were pun- 
ished. So you see that Samson’s wife who betrayed him, lest she 
and her father should be burnt by the Philistines, had at last the 
very punishment which she tried to escape by doing what was 
wrong, and brought it all upon herself. The safest way to act in 
every thing, is to do that which is right, or in the end we shall, 
most likely, smart for it. 

But Samson was not yet satisfied. The Philistines had used 
him very ill, and, though revenge is not proper, yet, in this case, 
God made his anger to work Israel’s deliverance. So he fell 
upon the Philistines and “ smote them hip and thigh,” or heaps 
upon heaps, “ with a great slaughter.” 

That one man should kill so many is odd, but if God gave him 
more than the common strength of a man, and let them all turn 
cowards, the thing is easily accounted for. It is no wonder if 
they fled from Samson when they saw how strong he was, for 
they would have fled from a lion for the same reason, and he 
was much stronger than a lion, as we have seen how easily he 
tore one of these beasts to pieces. 

After this Samson went to live in a rock, which was, perhaps, 
a fortress, called Etam. And the Philistines got together a great 
number of men, and went and pitched in Judah ; and the men of 
Judah fearing for themselves, asked the reason of this visit. And 
when the Philistines told them they wanted to find Samson, the 
men of Judah, three thousand in number, went to the top of the 
rock Etam, and told Samson that they were come to deliver him 





861 




CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 361 

to the Philistines. Was not this base of them, because Samson 
was one of their own countrymen, and the Philistines were all 
the time oppressors of Israel 1 ? Well, the cowards did not like 
to fall upon him, lest he should smite them, as he had smitten 
the Philistines, so they entreated him to deliver himself up, and 
he, not wishing to hurt any of his countrymen, agreed to do so, 
on condition that they would not kill him when he was in their 
hands. “ And they bound him with two new cords and brought 
him up from the rock.” 

And when Samson came to Lehi, where the Philistines were, 
they all u shouted against him they thought they had surely 
got him safely now, and that they might do as they liked with 
him. Some laughed, and some, perhaps, pointed at him with 
their fingers, and some called him ill names, and all tried to in- 
sult him, and, thinking themselves safe, they might have laid 
aside, or not had ready, what arms they possessed ; when, all in 
a moment, “ the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon Samson, 
and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was 
burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.” 

What a fine fright they were now all in ! I think I see them 
tumbling one over another, and leaving those to save themselves 
that could ; for they could not forget that he lately “ smote them 
hip and thigh with a great slaughter.” Samson had no weapon, 
but he found the new jaw-bone of an ass lying near him, and this 
he made his sword. He “ put forth his hand and took it, and 
slew a thousand men therewith.” 

Then, as the conquerors of whom you have before read, Sam- 
son made a song of triumph, and he sung, 


“ With the jaw-bone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, 

With the jaw-bone of an ass, have I slain a thousand men.” 

Samson now threw away the jaw-bone, and in remembrance of 
the event he called the place Ramath-lehi, which means the lift- 
i ing up of the jaw-hone. 

After this battle he was thirsty and ready to die, and he prayed 
to the Lord to help him, and God clave a hollow place in the 
place now called by him a jaw-bone, and there came water there- 

14 




362 child’s commentator. 

out, and he revived. Then he called that spot after a particular 
name, that God’s goodness to him might not be forgotten ; the 
name he gave to it was Enhakkore, which signifies the well of him 
that cried , that is, that cried to God. 

Some time after this Samson went to Gaza, a city of the Phi- 
listines, and he saw a woman who was an innkeeper, and who 
does not seem to have been one of the best sort of women. And 
he remained there for the night. But the Philistines soon learnt 
that he was come amongst them, and so they resolved once 
more to try and catch him. So they “ compassed him in,” by 
fastening all the gates of the city, and put guards to lie in wait 
for him in the morning, when they intended to kill him. 

However, he got up at midnight, having some divine impres- 
sion on his mind that warned him of his danger, and he went to 
the gates of the city, but found them fast. He made no difficulty 
on that account, but he laid hold on the posts and pulled up posts 
and gates and all, just as a strong man might a little garden-gate, 
and away he carried them in triumph on his shoulders, “ bar and 
all,” as conquerors sometimes did their spoils, and left them on | 
the top of a hill, that many people might see them. 

After this, Samson chose for his companion one Delilah, a Phi- /] 
listine woman whom he loved, and who lived in the valley of Sorek. | 

The lords of the Philistines, who seem always to have been on 
the watch for Samson, thought this a good opportunity to take 
him, so they offered Delilah a sum of money, equal to about 
three thousand five hundred dollars, if she would find out 
where his strength was, and so rob him of it ; they probably 
thought he had got some kind of charm to enable him to do such 
wonders as he did. 

Delilah was glad enough to accept of the offer, and she teased 
Samson to tell her the secret. Samson vexed her in turn, by 
telling her first one thing and then another, as you may read in 
the sixteenth chapter, and when she had first bound him with 
seven green withs, and then again with new ropes, and then wove 
his locks and fastened them with a pin in the wall, as he told her „ j 
at different times, he set himself free, and showed that he was as j 
strong as ever. 




child’s commentator. 363 


Then Delilah told him that he mocked her, and that, if he 
loved her, he would not serve her so. So Samson at length told 
her all his heart, and said that he was a Nazarite, and his head 
had never been shaved, but if she cut off his hair he would be as 
weak as any other man. 

Having long hair was the mark of a Nazarite, and if this was 
cut off the N azarite’s vow would be broken, and God’s spirit 
would depart from him. 

Delilah now believed, from Samson’s very sincere manner, 
that he had told her all his heart, and she earnestly begged the 
lords of the Philistines to come to her and take their captive. So 
they came, and brought the money in their hand. And she con 
trived to make Samson fall asleep on her knees, “ and she called 
for a man, and caused him to shave off the seven locks of his 
head,” in which his hair was, probably, plaited ; “ and she began 
\ to afflict him,” or insult him, to try if his strength was quite gone. 

[ Samson now awoke, and thought he could do as before, but his 

I locks were gone, of which he was not aware, having been 
^ asleep, and now “the Lord was departed from him.” j i\ 

1 / Then the Philistines took him, put out his eyes, carried him to 
Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass, and made a slave of 
him, “ and he did grind in the prisonhouse for they set their 
slaves to grind their corn. 

At length his hair began to grow again. And about that time, 

“ the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer 
a great sacrifice unto Dagon, their god, and to rejoice, for they 
said, Our god hath delivered Samson, our enemy, into our hand. 

And when the people saw him, they praised their god ; for they 
said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the 
destroyer of our country, which slew many of us.” 

Then, after the sacrifice, they sent for Samson to make sport 
for them, probably by ridiculing, and teasing, and smiting him. 

And that he might be seen by all, they set him in a public part 
of the building where they were, between two pillars. 

Samson then asked a lad that guided him, just to help him to 
lay hold on the two main pillars that supported the building. 
“Now, the house was full of men and women, and all the lords 



364 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


of the Philistines were there ; and there were upon the roof about 
three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made 
sport,” the roof being flat, and probably, having openings in it to 
give a view below. 

At this moment Sampson prayed to God to give him strength ; 
then grasping a pillar with each hand, he cried out, “ Let me die 
with the Philistines.” “ And he bowed himself with all his 
might, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people 
that were therein.” 

This was a great blow at the Philistines, for you have just read 
that all their lords or great men were there ; on the roof only, 
were three thousand persons, besides all that were inside, so that, 
probably, six or seven thousand were slain in this last effort of 
Samson. “ So the dead which he slew at his death were more 
than they which he slew in his life.” 

Then Samson’s brethren took him and buried him in the burying 
place of Manoah his father. “ He judged Israel twenty years.” 

Though we cannot compare the sinning Samson with the sin- 
less Saviour, yet when we read of this conquest at his death, we 
can but think of Him who, when he died on the cross, amidst the 
insults of his enemies, destroyed the power of death, so that it 
could never assail him again, nor shall it ever hurt those that be- 
lieve in him ; who “ beat down Satan” under his feet, that he 
and all his wicked spirits with him, can never harm those that 
put their trust in Jesus ; for he has shown that he is more power- 
ful than they, and having laid down his life, he had even power 
to take it up again, and now ever lives to save us. 



child’s commentator. 


365 


THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH CHAPTERS OF JUDGES. 

The Story of Micah and his Gods. 

“ Do ye know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, 
and a graven image, and a molten image 1 ?” — Chap, xviii. 14. 


Some chapters are put at the end of the book of Judges, which 
contain. stories of what happened a little after the days of Joshua, 
and long before Samson, but as they do not relate to the rulers 
of Israel, they are put here that they might not interrupt their 
history, by coming between Joshua and the Judges. 

In the sixth verse we learn when the story happened, which 
we are about to tell. “ In those days there was no king in Israel, 
but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” 

“And there was a man of Mount Ephraim whose name was 
Micah.” And his mother had hoarded up eleven hundred pieces of 
silver, which she probably meant to leave him when she died. But 
he, finding where they were, took and laid them up for his own 
use. Though she were his mother, and though she did not want 
the money, and he might, yet it was a great fault in him to take 
it from her. When she missed the money, she was in a great 
passion, and cursed the thief. Perhaps she suspected Micah, and 
did so in his hearing that she might terrify him, for it was a 
dreadful thing for him to hear his mother curse him. So Micah, 
alarmed at her words, directly told her that he had taken the 
money, and he restored it, and she then blessed him. “ It is best,” 
says good Matthew Henry, “ not to do evil, but it is next best, 
when it is done, to undo it again by repentance, confession, and 
restitution. Let children be afraid of having the prayers of their 
parents against them, ‘ for the curse causeless,’ ” or without cause, 
“ shall not come, yet that which is justly deserved may be justly 
feared, even though it was passionately and indecently uttered.” 

His mother then told him that she had dedicated the money 
to the Lord for her son’s benefit, to make a graven image and a 
molten image, and she restored the money for that purpose. 



child’s commentator. 


366 

However, he gave his mother the money, and she took two hun- 
dred shekels of silver, and gave them to the founder, to melt 
them into the shape of something to be used in worship. 

And Micah, her son, had a house of gods, or idols, and he made 
an ephod, or priest’s costly garment, and teraphim, or some sort 
of household gods, to be consulted by some signs, as gipsies and 
foolish people consult the grounds of tea in the bottom of a cup, 
to tell fortunes ; and having himself children grown up, he con- 
secrated one of his sons, who became his priest. 

Micah, probably, designed to worship the God of Israel, but as 
it was some trouble to go a great way to the tabernacle, he 
thought he might save that, by having a priest at home. Now, 
as this was contrary to God’s command, who would have all 
Israel to worship together, he committed a great fault, and not a 
less in making his son to serve as a priest. 

However, he soon got another priest instead of his son. A young 
man of Bethlehem Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Le- 
vite, happened to be travelling that way, and stopped at Micah’s 
house, where we may suppose, according to the simple customs 
of that time and country, he sought a night’s lodging and some re- 
freshment. Micah very naturally wished to know who he was, 
and found that he was a Levite, who had last dwelt at Bethlehem, 
a city in the tribe of Judah, and that he was seeking some comfort- 
able spot to live in ; from which it appears that the nation being 
then without a king or governor, and so all in disorder, the Levites 
were not properly provided for as God had commanded by Moses. 

So Micah asked him to stop and live with him, and be to him 
as a father and a priest, and, said he, “ I will give thee ten she- 
kels of silver,” about thirty shillings, “ by the year, and a suit of 
apparel, and thy victuals.” In asking him to be his father, he 
meant that he might advise with him and respect him as a father ; 
and as a priest, that he should perform all his rites of religion ; 
and though the wages seem small, they were good for that coun- 
try, in those early times. 

So the Levite was satisfied, and Micah consecrated him, or 
filled his hand with sacrifices to offer for him, — and the young 
man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah. 


child’s commentator. 


367 

This was all doing what was wrong. Micaji had no power 
given him to consecrate a priest, and so he did it without God’s 
command ; and though the priests were of the tribe of Levi, yet 
every Levite was not a priest, but only such as were of the fam- 
ily of Aaron. However, Micah thought himself very happy, be- 
cause he had got hold of a Levite to worship in his house, and 
he said, “Now 1 know that the Lord will do me good, seeing 1 
have a Levite to my priest.” 

The tribe of Dan finding themselves straitened for room, sent 
out five men to spy out the land, and see if they could discover a 
good spot. They, like the Levite, happened to stop at Micah’s 
house. And they happened also to know the voice of the Levite, 
and asked him how he got there ; and when they heard his story, 
they asked him to act as their priest, and to inquire of God whe- 
ther they should succeed in their journey. He said they would, 
and, as it happened, he told them right. 

Well, they went on to Laish, about an hundred and four 
miles further, and there they saw the people living very careless- 
ly, quite at ease, and not on their guard against any attack. 

So they went back and told their brethren, and six hundred 
armed men joined them, and they set out on their march. 

In their way they had, as the five men, to pass by Micah’s house, 
and being told about the priest and all his things for worship, 
they got the five men to go in and steal them ; and they secured 
the priest, and told him it would be much more honourable for 
him to be priest for so many, rather than for Micah’s family. So 
he very readily went with them, and ran away from poor Micah. 

As soon as Micah found what they had done, he got his neigh- 
bours together ; and they set off after the Danites, and overtook 
them. “ What aileth thee ?” said they ; that is, “ What is the 
matter f” “ Matter,” said Micah, “ ye have taken away my gods 
which I have made, and the priest, and ye are gone away ; and 
what have I more ?” But they told him he had better go back 
lest he should get the worst of it ; and finding they were much too 
numerous for him, he was obliged to lose his priest and his gods. 

What a foolish man he was to call those gods which he himself 
had made. And how one sin leads to another; he meant at first 


sue 



to worship the one true God of Israel by these things, but at length 
his first error in setting up his own tabernacle, while God had 
another, led to this disgraceful idolatry, which ended in his shame 
and confusion. It is they only that trust in the Lord God of Is- 
rael, that shall never be ashamed nor confounded. 

Then the men of Dan went and took Laish, and killed its idle 
inhabitants, and burnt the place, and built a city and called it 
Dan. And there they set up Micah’s graven images, and Jona- 
than the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, who had been 
Micah’s priest, became theirs, he and his sons, until the day of 
the captivity of the land, and they had Micah’s image with them 
“ all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh which was 
till the time of Samuel, when the ark of God was carried away 
captive by the Philistines. 

Thus ends the history of Micah’s gods, showing how the 
Danites became guilty of setting up idolatry. 


THE NINETEENTH, TWENTIETH, AND TWENTY-FIRST CHAPTERS 
OF JUDGES. 

“ In those days there was no king in Israel ; every man did that 
which was right in his own eyes.” — Chap. xxi. 25. 


These chapters contain but shocking accounts of human nature. 
They tell us how the Benjamites so ill-treated the wife of a tra- 
veller, whom as a traveller they ought to have used kindly, — 
that she died in consequence of their cruelty. 

The other tribes of Israel were, however, greatly enraged at 
this conduct ; and, having asked counsel of God about going to 
battle, they nearly destroyed the whole of the tribe of Benjamin, 
six hundred only having escaped and hid themselves in a rock 
called Rimmon. Many thousands perished on both sides, owing to 
this single act of wickedness. Beware of one sin, my dear young 
reader, for it will probably bring with it many sorrows, and may 
be the cause of the greatest evils, both to yourself and others. 

The Israelites grieved that they had now one tribe in Israel 



child's commentator. 


369 


nearly destroyed, and having offered burnt offerings and peace- 
offerings to the Lord, on account of their own sins and those of 
their brethren, — they received them into their favour, and found 
them wives, that they might comfort them in their distressing 
condition, having, in their vengeance, slain all the wives and 
daughters of the tribe of Benjamin. 

All this happened when “ there w r as no king in Israel.” Only 
wicked men would be pleased were there no magistrates, for 
then every one might injure his neighbour as much as he liked ; 
and, presuming on this, the Benjamites both injured the innocent 
and refused to give up the guilty to punishment. And though 
they were punished, yet the severity was greater than the crime, 
and was inflicted on thousands for the crimes of a few — men only 
being the judges according to their own will ; though in the mat- 
ter of the battle, they did ask counsel of God. Let us, then, 
thank God that we live where we are protected from the wicked 
by good laws, and where we may lead peaceable and quiet lives 
in all godliness and honesty. 






RUTH GLEANING IN THE FIELD 




NAOMI AND HER DAUGHTER-IN-LAW HANNAH DEDICATES SAMUEL. 



n~» 








CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


373 


She. no doubt, longed to return home, for the people among 
whom she lived did not serve God, and she, who was an Israel- 
itish woman, could not feel happy among them. 

Having learnt that there was bread enough in her own land, 
she set out to see it once more ; and her daughters-in-law, that 
is, her sons’ wives, went with her. 

On the way, she advised her two daughters-in-law to go hack 
to their own country and friends ; and she kissed them to bid them 
good bye, and they all wept together. “ And Orpah kissed her 
mother-in-law, but Ruth clave unto her.” Then Naomi said to 
Ruth, “ Behold, thy sister-in-law is gone back unto her people, 
and unto her gods : return thou after thy sister-in-law.” Then 
Ruth told her that she had fully made up her mind, and it was 
of no use to try and persuade her to turn back. “Thy people,” 
said she, “ shall be my people, and thy God, my God “ I will 
have no more to do with the heathen in my own country, nor 
will I serve any more the false gods of Moab.” 

So they went together to Bethlehem, “ in the beginning of 
barley-harvest.” 

On Naomi’s reaching Bethlehem, many did not know T her ; she 
was so altered by time and sorrow, — for time changes the fine 
bloom on the face, just as autumn does the colours of the summer 
flowers, — and the deaths of her husband and sons had marked her 
countenance with lines like those of age, for sorrow brings many 
down near to the grave, or sends them there.— “And they said, 
Is this Naomi? And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, 
call me Mara; for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with 
me, I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home again 
empty — “I went out with a husband and two sons, and 
something to buy bread, but now I am a widow, and childless, 
and poor ; my name Naomi, which means beautiful, does not 
suit me, for my face is wrinkled with grief; call me, therefore, 
by another name — call me Mara, which means bitterness , for I 
am now a woman of a sorrowful spirit .’ 

Well, now they had arrived at home they must have bread. 
So Ruth proposed to go and work in the field, and glean some 
corn with the poor. And Providence so ordered it, that she 


child’s commentator. 


374 

went into a field which belonged to Boaz, a relation of Naomi’s 
husband, and a very rich man. 

And Boaz found that she was there, and having heard about 
her, how good she was to her mother-in-law, and how sincerely 
she loved the true God, so as even to forsake every thing to serve 
him ; he ordered that nobody should disturb her, that she might 
eat and drink with his servants ; and that she might be the bet- 
ter supplied, he commanded the corn even to be dropped, on pur- 
pose, by the way, for her to glean it. 

You may read in the second chapter, that Ruth’s meal was 
bread dipped in vinegar, and parched corn. You, perhaps, think 
this an odd sort of meal, but it is still eaten in that part of the 
world, and, in hot weather, it is very refreshing to the mouth, 
and very nice. 

Having finished gleaning, Ruth went home with her load, which 
“ was about an ephah of barley,” or a bushel. And so she con- 
tinued gleaning till the end of barley-harvest. 

Now, it was a custom in Israel for the nearest relation of a de- 
ceased person to marry his widow, if the husband died and left 
no sons and daughters. And Ruth being the widow of one of 
Elimelech’s sons, her mother told her to make known to Boaz, 
who was Elimelech’s relation, that he must marry her according 
to the law. We have no such law, and no such custom here, and 
therefore it would be quite improper among us to do as Ruth 
did, but Boaz knew that she was acting rightly, and did not con- 
demn her. 

There was, however, another relation of her late husband’s, 
who was nearer to him than Boaz ; and Boaz said he would see 
if he would marry her, and recover the property of the family ; 
and if he would not, then he would do as the la w commanded . 

So the matter was settled before ten of the elders, or aged 
chief men of the city, and the kinsman not being inclined to take 
Ruth, “ he drew off his shoe,” which was a custom to show that 
all claim to any one in such a case was given up, and so she be- 
came the wife of Boaz, and made Naomi very happy. 

This little history will teach us that good people, like Naomi, 
may be very much afflicted for a time, yet God in the end will 




child’s commentator. 375 

comfort them : that God can, by his grace, bring the worst sin- 
ners to love and serve him, as he did Ruth, a Moabitish woman, 
one of the people of that nation whose king tried to curse Israel : 
and, that none shall ever lose that give up anything dear to them 
in order to serve God, as Ruth even did all her family and 
friends, and became at last the wife of a rich man and a pious 
Israelite, who loved her. But the greatest event in the story, 
and the reason why it is told, is, that it contains something ol 
consequence about Jesus Christ. For Ruth had a son, and they 
called his name Obed ; he was the father of Jesse, and Jesse was 
the father of David, and Jesus Christ was called the son of Da- 
vid, according to the flesh. So he could be traced back in this 
history as springing from Ruth — from Ruth, who was once a hea- 
then woman, and from Boaz, a pious Jew ; showing us, who were 
then heathen people, that he is the Saviour of the Gentiles, or 
heathen, as well as the Jews. Thus, by leaving her wicked peo- 
ple, and not going back with Orpah, and resolving on living with 
Naomi among the true worshippers of God, Ruth had the honour 
of being one of the line from which should spring that glorious 
Saviour, in whom all nations should be blessed. 








376 child’s commentator. 


THE FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL, 


OTHERWISE CALLED 

THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS : 




OR, THE HISTORY OF THE TIMES OF SAMUEL, IN CONTINUATION OF THE JUDGES AND OF 
THE FIRST KINGS OF ISRAEL, IN COMMENCEMENT OF THE BOOKS OF KINGS. 


Young Samuel, a servant of God — Eli's wicked sons. 

“ And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli.” — 

Chap. iii. 1. 



There was a man of a place in Mount Ephraim, whose name 
was Elkanah. And, as we have before seen, it was common in 
that country to have more wives than one, and so Elkanah had 
two wives, called Hannah and Peninnah. We have also seen, 
that as every family expected the foretold Saviour to be born in 
it, all were anxious for the honour and happiness of having Christ 
a member of their household. But Hannah was not a mother, 
and her heart was therefore grieved. Peninnah, too, was unkind 
to her; and instead of pitying, she vexed her and provoked her, 
perhaps, telling her that she would never see the Messiah, or 
Saviour, springing from her blood. 










child’s commentator. 379 

What troubles soever befall us, there is no one to whom we 
can go with a surer hope of support under them, and deliverance 
from them, than to a good God, who will not torture and upbraid 
us, but is full of mercy and compassion. Elkanah was, indeed, 
kind to Hannah, “ for he loved her and when he had feasts, 
from that share of the peace-offerings that fell to him, when he 
presented them to God yearly at Shiloh, he always gave Hannah 
“ a worthy portion” of the meat. But Elkanah could not comfort 
her when God could. So she prayed silently to the Lord, and 
vowed, that if she should ever have a son, he should be given up 
for the entire service of God. And while she was praying, Eli 
the priest, who “ sat by a post of the temple of the Lord,” saw 
her moving her lips and looking much grieved, and he thought 
that she was not sober. But he did not know her heart ; he 
therefore reproved her ; but when she told him she was praying 
in her sorrow, — pouring out her soul before the Lord ; then Eli 
pitied her too, and prayed God to hear her prayer. And so she 
went away “ no more sad.” 

After a time, she had a son to bless her family, and she called 
his name Samuel, which means, “asked of God.” 

And when she had weaned Samuel, she took him up with her 
to Shiloh, with bullocks, flour, and wine, as sacrifices to offer to 
the Lord, and by these sacrifices “ to seek God’s acceptance of 
her living sacrifice,” which Samuel was, whom she now parted 
with, from her bosom, to serve God always in his house. You 
have been told that these sacrifices were shadows of Christ, the 
great sacrifice offered up for our sins ; and this act of Hannah 
shows us that whatever we do for God, or give up to him, how 
dear soever it may be to us, has no merit in itself, and can only 
be well pleasing to God, as we present it to him through Jesus 
Christ our great sacrifice, with whom God is well pleased. 

Hannah then prayed and sang a song of thanksgiving to God ; 
and Samuel was left to “ minister unto the Lord before Eli, the 
priest.” 

This priest had sons, but they were “ sons of Belial that is, 
wicked men, sons of the wicked one. As their father was high- 



880 



child’s commentator. 

priest and judge in Israel, they were priests by birth ; but they 
were bad priests. God had provided for them a portion of the 
sacrifices, but instead of being contented with it, they took what 
did not belong to them, and were so covetous after the best, that 
the people that went to sacrifice were quite disgusted with them, 
and prevented from giving what sacrifices they wished to the Lord. 
We shall hear more of these wicked sons by and by, and of their 
sad end ; for it is an awful thing to sin against God, who will 
surely at one time or other, punish all wickedness, unless it be 
sincerely and deeply repented of, and atonement made for trans- 
gression, which is now to be done by looking unto Jesus, the 
sinner’s only hope. 

And now Samuel, though young, “ ministered before the Lord.” 
“Some little services, perhaps, he was employed in about the 
altar, though much under the age appointed by the law for the 
Levite’s ministration. He could light a candle, or hold a dish, 
or run on an errand, or shut a door; and, because he did this 
with a pious disposition of mind, it is called ministering to the 
Lord , and great notice is taken of it. After a while he did his 
work so well, that Eli appointed he should minister with a linen 
ephod , as the priests did, — though he was no priest, — because he 
saw that God was with him.” This may remind us, by the way, 
that little children cannot begin too soon to be religious. 


“Samuel, the child, was wean’d and brought 
To wait upon the Lord ; 

Young Timothy betimes was taught 
To know his holy word. 


“ Then why should I so long delay 
What others learn’d so soon ; 
I would not pass another day 
Without this work begun.” 


And Samuel’s kind “mother made him a little coat, and 
brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her 






child’s commentator. 381 

husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.” This was, perhaps, in- 
tended to keep him from the cold, and to preserve his other 
clothes from being soiled, when he was doing some meaner ser 
vices in the Tabernacle. Children should love their tender mo- 
thers, who do not forget them, but are thus thoughtful of their 
wants, and provide for them. 

And now we learn something more about Eli’s wicked sons ; 
there was hardly a wicked deed which they did not commit. And 
Eli, their father, talked with them, and tried to persuade them to 
turn from their wicked ways, but they did not mind what he 
said to them. So while “ the child Samuel grew up and was in 
favour, both with the Lord, and also with men these sons were 
quite the contrary, neither beloved by the one nor the other. 

Though Eli had told his sons how wrongly they were doing, 
he was not angry enough with them, for when we are angry at 
sin, we may be angry and sin not. So God sent a prophet to 
Eli, to tell him that he knew all the iniquity of his family, and 
that, instead of the honour of the sacred priesthood continuing in 
it, he would cut off its branches, who perhaps were just like these 
sons, and they should die in the flower of their age, just when, 
like a fine flower, they were rosy and full of health. His two 
sons, Hophni and Phinehas, should die in one day, and those that 
remained of the family should be so degraded and poor — that 
they should crouch to that priest God should place in their stead, 
and pray for a piece of silver, or a morsel of bread. 

God also told Samuel what he would do to Eli’s wicked fam- 
ily. You may read, in the third chapter, how God called to 
Samuel when he had “ laid down to sleep,” and that Samuel sup- 
posed it was Eli speaking to him, and ran to the old man to 
know what he wanted, — and that he did so three times, till at 
last Eli saw that God must have said something to him in an ex- 
traordinary way, and desired him to say, “ Speak, Lord, for thy 
servant heareth,” and to listen to all that the voice should speak. 
Also, that in the morning Eli asked Samuel to tell him all that 
he had heard ; and when he found that it was a message of judg- 
ment on his wicked children, he could plead nothing in their be- 




382 pHipp’s COMMENTATOR. 


half, for God was just in all he meant to do, and he only said, 
“ It is the Lord ; let him do what seemeth him good.” So Sam- 
uel was known and acknowledged to be a prophet of the Lord, 
and his fame reached from Dan to Beersheba, the two parts of 
Judea the most distant from each other. 



383 



child’s commentator. 


THE FOURTH, FIFTH, SIXTH, AND SEVENTH CHAPTERS OF I. SAMUEL. 

The wonderful history of the Ark when taken by the Philistines , 
and of its restoration to Israel. 

“ And the ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines 
seven months.” — Chap. vi. 1. 

The Israelites were at this time greatly vexed by the Philis- 
tines, who had a sort of rule over them, and they resolved to set 
themselves free. So they went out to meet the Philistines, and 
were beaten with the loss of four thousand men. 

The elders of Israel then advised them to send to Shiloh, and 
get the ark of the covenant in the camp — as in the days of Moses 
1 and Joshua, when its presence gave success, it being then a sign of 
( God’s own presence amongst the people. And when the ark had 
[ arrived, the Israelites were so rejoiced, and felt so sure that they 

l should beat the enemy, that they shouted till the earth seemed to 

/ ring like a bell with the sound of their voices. But God had not 
told them to fetch the ark, nor had he said he would be with them. 

However, when the Philistines knew the ark was there, they were 
sadly afraid, but instead of answering the purpose which the Israel- 
ites intended, — to frighten the Philistines away, — they were only 
provoked to fight the more desperately, for said they, — “Woe 
unto us : who shall deliver us out of the hands of these mighty 
gods 1 these are the gods that smote the Egyptians with all the 
plagues in the wilderness. Be strong, and quit yourselves like 
men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, 
as they have been to you : quit yourselves like men, and fight. 
And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled 
every man into his tent : and there was a very great slaughter ; 
for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen or, as we should 
now say, infantry or foot soldiers. “ And,” what was worst of 
all, “ the ark of God was taken ; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni 
and Phinehas,” who had brought the ark, “were slain;” so, as 
God had said, they died “ both in one day.” 



\ 



384 child’s commentator. 


As soon as the defeat had happened, a man of the tribe of Ben 
jamin ran off to Shiloh, where Eli was anxiously waiting to hear 
the news, and especially if the ark of God was safe. And he told 
the news as he went along, and the people made a great lamen- 
tation, and Eli began to fear all was not right. Then the mes- 
senger told him that the troops were beaten — and great numbers 
were slain — and that his two sons were killed — and last of all, 
that the ark of God was taken. He heard all with silent grief, 
but when he heard that the ark was taken, his heart sunk within 
him, and he fell down off his seat, and broke his neck, and 
died. Eli was ninety-eight years old, and had judged Israel 
forty years. 

So died Eli’s sons for their wickedness, and so died Eli, because 
he had not been earnest enough in rebuking his wicked children. 
Children must not wonder if their pious parents, with such warn* 
ings before them, rebuke them very seriously indeed, if they lie I 

and do other bad things, which God will punish in the guilty. It I 

I is love to them which causes their parents to correct them for j 

doing evil, for they know how often it leads to ruin even in this jp 

I world, and will, if not repented of, lead to eternal misery in an- v 

othei. Besides, if parents are not faithful in warning their chil- I 

dren, they also displease God, and may expect to be punished I 

by their wicked children’s conduct and sufferings, even if God in 
the end should have mercy upon themselves. 

Nor have we yet heard the whole of this sorrowful tale, for the 
wife of Phinehas was ill at the time, and on hearing of his death 
and of the taking of the ark, she died also, leaving a son, whom 
in memory of these painful events she called Ichabod, which 
means The glory is departed , for “ she said, The glory is departed 
from Israel ; for the ark of God is taken.” 


The Philistines now foolishly thought that they had got the 
God of the Israelites, and they carried the ark in triumph to Ash- 
dod, one of their five cities, and there they put it in the temple 
of their idol Dagon, either to worship it themselves, or rather as 
a trophy of victory. The next morning they found that Dagon 




had fallen on his face before the ark, and they set theii idol up 
again. And the next morning after that, they found that he had 
fallen again, and was so broken that only his stump remained. 
A pretty sort of a god this ! yet so foolish and ignorant are man 
kind, without the Bible, that they still call such things gods ; and 
the Philistines, who might, in common sense, have seen how 
foolish it was to worship such a thing, even paid respect, ever 
after, to the spot where Dagon lost his head and his hands, and 
would never tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod, on 
which he fell. 


i 

I 

i 


This idol of the Philistines was 
made like one of our fanciful pic- 
tures called a mermaid ; the upper 
part being a human shape to the 
middle, and the lower like a fish : as 
Horace, a Roman poet, describes it, 
“ a handsome woman with a fish’s 
tail.” 

The Philistines would now have 
done wisely to return the ark, or 
worship the God of Israel, whose 
presence was often with it, or who 
chose to show his power where it 
was ; but they were blind idolaters, 
and they were punished for hurting 
Israel, though Israel deserved 
punishment from God. Having 
therefore done that work, they are now punished for their 
own crimes in slaying the favoured nation, and God sent a dis- 
ease among them, and destroyed great numbers. Then they 
sent the ark away to Gath, another of their cities, supposing, per- 
haps, they should be more lucky there, but there the people died 
in the same way ; and, last of all, they sent it to Ekron ; but the 
people were greatly afraid of it, and they had reason to be so, 
for there they were smitten like the others, and their cry “went 
up to heaven that is, it was very loud and piteous, and, as we 
say, rent the air. 






386 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


After this the Philistines kept the ark no more in their ci- 
ties, but sent it into the fields, and there God punished them, for 
there is no escaping from his judgments when he visits the 
wicked. He caused mice to spring up in great multitudes, and 
destroy their corn. 

So at the end of seven months the Philistines asked their 
priests and conjurors what they should do with the ark. And 
they advised that it should be sent away. And as they knew that 
the God of Israel accepted of trespass-offerings from his people, 
they thought that one should now be given to him — though they 
mistook its nature, for without shedding of blood there was no 
remission of sin ; the death of the creatures slain, showing the 
death of Christ, who was to come and atone for sin. They re- 
solved that this trespass-offering should be in a shape which 
should acknowledge God’s hand in their sufferings, and as they 
had been smitten with a disease called emerods, they would have 
five golden emerods made like the shape of a spot marked by the 
disease, and five would be one for each of their cities ; and then 
as God had sent what was clearly a miraculous number of mice 
to plague them, they would send of these as many golden ones 
as they had cities and villages. Then they would take two milch 
kine or cows that gave milk, and tie the kine to a new cart, and 
bring the calves home from them ; and putting the ark in the 
cart, with the golden mice and emerods in a coffer or chest by 
its side, they would let the kine go their way without a driver. 

Now in doing this they thought wisely. For they reasoned 
that if the cows did not go home to their calves, as they are 
always exceedingly fond of them, — why then they should be 
sure that something wonderful was about the ark, and that God 
did all that they suffered ; but, if they did go home, then it was 
all mere chance, — though this last idea was very foolish, be- 
cause they had seen enough to convince any but the most ob- 
stinate that there was no mere chance in what had come upon 
them. 

Well, though the cows had never been trained for the yoke, — * 
and had no driver,— and were left to go their own way, — and had 
lost their calves, and went on lowing for them, — instead of turn- 




child’s commentator. 387 


ing where they were gone, they took the straight way to Beth- 
shemesh, the next city in the land of Israel, and though it was 
eight or ten miles off, they never stopped, and the lords of the 
Philistines, who watched their motions, saw them cross the bor- 
der of Beth-shemesh : 44 And they of Beth-shemesh were reaping 
their wheat harvest in the valley : and they lifted up their eyes, 
and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it. And the cart came into 
the field of Joshua, a Beth-shemite, and stood there, where there 
was a great stone : and they clave the wood of the cart, and offer- 
ed the kine a burnt-offering unto the Lord ;” for having carried 
the sacred ark, they could no more be used for common purposes. 

The Philistines saw all this done, and returned. 

And now a dreadful punishment befel the men of Beth-she- 
mesh. “ Every Israelite had heard great talk of the ark, and had 
been possessed with a mighty veneration for it : but it was lodged . 
within a veil ; and even the high-priest himself might not look 
upon it but once a-year, and then through a cloud of incense. I 

Perhaps this made many say, (as we are apt to covet that which 11 

is forbidden,) what a great deal they would give for a sight of it. j J 

Some of these Beth-shemites, we may suppose, for that reason, J 
rejoiced to see the ark , more than for the sake of the public safety. i 
Yet this did not content them : they might see its outside, but 
they would go further ; they would take off the covering, which, 
it is likely, was nailed or screwed on, and look into it ; under pre- 
tence of seeing whether the Philistines had not taken the two ta- 
bles out of it, or some way damaged them ; but really, to gratify 
a sinful curiosity of their own, which intruded into those things 
that God had thought fit to conceal' from them.” However, they 
did not treat the ark with that reverence which God ordered 
it to have, as the sign tha.t he was among the people, and he 
visited them with severe punishment; for “he smote the men of 
Beth shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the Lord, 
even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and 
ten men.” Some think that the number is too great for the size 
of the place, but perhaps the fifty thousand men might be per 
sons drawn from other parts out of curiosity, and the seventy 
men might be men of Beth-shemesh. 




388 child’s commentator. 


See then with how much reverence we ought to treat the 
great God of heaven and earth, and at all times to stand in awe 
of him. We must not use freedoms with his name, and take 
liberties with his sacred ordinances, as we would with common 
things ; for “ God is greatly to be feared in the assemblies of his 
saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are round 
about him.” Well might the men of Beth-shemesh say, “ Who 
is able to stand before this holy Lord God ?” 

The men of Beth-shemesh left the ark on a stone in an open field ; 
and the men of Kirjath-jearim fetched it away, and took it to the 
house of Abinadab, and sanctified or set apart Eleazar his son to 
keep it, so that it might not be seized by the Philistines, nor 
looked into again by curious Israelites. Here the ark remained 
till it was fetched away many years afterwards, by king David. 

No wonder that the ark of God was taken away, and that 
it was not restored for the use of the people at Shiloh. Eor 
with that foolish inclination to idolatry which the wicked na- 
tions had around, they had now among them worshippers of 
idols called Baalim, and Ashtaroth. And Samuel told them 
to put away these idols, and then, and not till then, would 
God deliver them from the Philistines. So they put them 
away, and met Samuel at a place called Mizpeh, to worship the 
Lord. 

As soon as the Philistines heard of this, they gathered their 
troops together, and marched against Israel, and Israel were 
afraid, and entreated Samuel to pray for them. And Samuel 
offered a lamb for a burnt-offering, — here was a reference, my 
dear reader, to the only Lamb that could take away sin, the 
Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, whom it shadowed forth; and on ac- 
count of this sacrifice, the Lord heard Samuel. 

And now, even while the sacrifice was offering up, the Philis- 
tines approached, but just as they probably thought they should 
slay all their victims, “ the Lord thundered with a great thunder,” 

- — and they fled in affright, and were smitten before Israel. Jo 
sephus, a Jewish writer, says that the earth quaked under them, 
when first they made their onset, and in many places opened and 




SAMUEL BEFORE ELL 



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child’s commentator. 391 

swallowed them up ; and that besides the terror of the thunder, 
their faces and hands were burnt with lightning, which obliged 
them to shift for themselves by flight. 


To keep up the remembrance of this wonderful deliverance, in 
which God had so plainly fought for Israel, “ Samuel took a stone, 
and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it> 
Ebenezer, which means — the stone of help, saying, Hitherto hath 
the Lord helped us.” Thus we erect monuments to keep in 
memory great events, and sometimes great victories, but the 
name of God is too often forgotten on our monuments. What 
Samuel did, we ought often to do ; and when we think of the 
dangers in which God has preserved us, and those out of which 
he has helped us, and when little children, too, not a few times — 
our hearts should be as the stone, on which should be written 
“ Eben-ezer,” or, hitherto the Lord hath helped us. 

This victory kept the Philistines out of the coast of Israel all 
the days of Samuel, and the cities which had been taken from 
Israel were now restored to them. 


THE EIGHTH, NINTH, AND TENTH CHAPTERS OF I. SAMUEL. 

Saul chosen to be the first King of Israel. 

“ And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the Lord 
hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people ? 
And all the people shouted, and said, God save the King !” — 
Chap. x. 24. 

Samuel had two sons whom he made judges, because he began 
to grow old and unfit for all the cares of his office. But these 
sons, like those of Eli, turned out bad ; they “ turned aside after 
filthy lucre,” that is, gain,— they took bribes, and perverted judg- 
ment, giving their opinions, in cases of dispute, in favor of those 
who would pay them best, and not according to right. It was not 
15 



Samuel’s fault, as it was Eli’s, that he did not properly notice 
their conduct, for he was ready to hear any public complaint 
against them. •* 

However, the people made the conduct of Samuel’s sons an ex- 
cuse to ask for a king, which they had never had. God designed 
that they should have one after his own heart, when Samuel 
should die, but they would not wait till then, and must have one 
instantly, and so be like the heathen nations around them. 

This behaviour displeased Samuel, and he prayed to God for 
wisdom to direct him what to do. And God told Samuel that 
they should have a king, but they should feel for their rash 
choice. Till this time he had been their king, and had appointed 
them governors who had made them pay no tribute, nor had vex- 
ed them by any tyranny ; but now as they had rejected him, by 
rejecting his servant Samuel, and wanted a king, “ like all the 
nations,” they should know what sort of kings theirs were. Not 
such as govern the people of England, who are a free people, but 
such as still govern in the eastern parts of the world, who keep 
all their subjects under them as so many slaves ; what we call 
absolute monarchs, governed by no law or parliament gathered 
from the people, but doing every thing according to their own 
pleasure. 

Samuel told the people all this, but they would not mind what 
he said, and so God said to him, “ Hearken unto their voice, and 
make them a king.” 

Now there was a man of the tribe of Benjamin, who was rich 
and mighty, and he had a son, who was a very handsome young 
man, and so tall that he was a head and shoulders above the 
height of men in general. The ancient nations usually chose such 
men for kings ; and this man was suited to the taste of Israel, 
who seemed more disposed to look for a great man than a good 
man, to rule over them. 

Saul’s father, whose name was Kish, being “ a mighty man of 
power,” had, it appears, some of the asses of the East, so beauti- 
ful and valuable, and which formed a portion of the wealth of 
Job and other rich men. 

By some means these creatures went astray, “ And Kish said 



child’s commentator. 893 

to Saul, his son, Take now one of the servants with thee, and 
arise, go seek the asses.” — “ It was quite agreeable to the simpli- 
city of those times, for persons of equal or greater substance to 
be employed in such an affair ; asses were ridden upon by per- 
sons of quality, and were fed and taken care of by the sons of 
dukes and princes.” 

Though Saul was now a man, and had children grown up, yet 
he obeyed his father’s orders ; and so he set an example worthy 
of imitation, for parents are always to be respected. 

He travelled through various places, which, it is supposed, took 
about three days’ journey ; but he could bear no news of the asses. 

Not being able to find them in this time, he determined to re- 
turn with the servant, to his father, thinking of his father’s tender 
concern for him ; supposing “ that if they stayed out any longer, 
the old gentleman would begin to fear, as Jacob concerning 
Joseph, that an evil beast had devoured them, or some other 
mischief had befallen them.” “ Come,” said he to the servant, 
“and let us return, lest my father leave caring for the asses, and 
take thought for us.” — Children should take care that they do no- 
thing to grieve or frighten their parents, but be tender of their 
tenderness. 

Saul’s servant, however, recollected that they were now near 
Ramah. the place where Samuel lived, and so he proposed to go 
and see this “man of God,” and as he was a prophet, perhaps he 
would be able to tell where the beasts were to be found. 

But according to long-established custom, which still continues 
in the East, great persons were not to be approached by strangers 
without a present; and as all their provision was gone, what 
could they present*? However, the servant recollected that he 
had in his pocket a piece of money, “ the fourth part of a shekel 
of silver,” which was worth about ninepence of our money ; and 
this, though trifling and hardly worth acceptance, was enough to 
show respect ; so it was agreed that he should make Samuel a 
present of this piece of money. 

And as they went up the hill to the city, they met with some 
young women going to- draw water, and asked them if the Seer 
was there, — for that was the name by which Samuel was known. 


394 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


known,— Seer meaning nearly the same as prophet, a person who 
sees or foretels things to come. 

Now, Samuel was just then going to sacrifice at Ram ah, for the 
ark not being at Shiloh, divine worship was not now confined to 
that place. And as they hastened up the hill they met him. 

God had impressed on the Seer’s mind that he would on that 
day send a man to him whom he should anoint on the head with 
oil, — or pour oil on it according to the ancient customs of appoint- 
ing kings,— and that he should rule over Israel, whose cry of dis- 
tress, notwithstanding all their ill conduct, he had graciously 
heard, being oppressed by the Philistines ; and this king should 
deliver them. As soon, therefore, as he saw Saul, he knew that 
he was the man ; and God again impressed it on his mind. 

Saul, not knowing Samuel, went up to him, and asked him to 
direct him to the Seer’s house. 

Then Samuel told him that he was the Seer, that he was just 
going to feast at the sacrifice, that he must go up with him and 
partake of it, and he should return on the morrow ; that he need 
not trouble himself further about the asses, for they were found, 
and that he should be ruler over Israel. 

Samuel’s knowledge of his business showed that he was a pro- 
phet, but his telling him that he was to be king of Israel, rather 
surprised him, and he spoke humbly about his being raised to so 
great an honour. 

There were about thirty persons at the feast, and Samuel put 
Saul “ in the chiefest place,” and gave him the best dish, already 
doing him honour as the king appointed by God to rule over Israel. 

After the feast Samuel took Saul to the top of his house, which 
being flat on the roof, was convenient for walking and taking the 
air, as we would in our gardens ; here he communed or talked 
privately with him, and told him, no doubt, how God had chosen 
him to be king, that he himself was quite willing to resign the 
authority of chief to him, and how he ought to perform his office 
for the good of the people. 


child’s commentator. 


395 


The next morning, as Saul was leaving Hamah, Samuel went 
with him, and when they had reached the end of the city, bfe told 
him to send his servant on before, as he had particular business 
with him. 

Then Samuel anointed him, and kissed him, according to the 
custom of the East. 

Before parting with him, Samuel also gave him some signs of 
what should happen to him as he went on, which must further 
confirm his faith in him as a true prophet of God. First, he 
should meet with some who should tell him that the asses were 
found, and that his father was in trouble at his long absence. 
Then he should meet with others going to Bethel, where there was a 
place for the worship of God, to which they w r ould be taking their 
sacrifices ; they should have kids, loaves, and a bottle of wine, de- 
signed for sacrifice, meat-offerings, and drink-offerings, — and he 
and the servant need not fear them, for they would find them to 
be friends, and they would show their friendship by bidding them 
good speed, and also giving them two loaves, which they would 
need in the remaining part of their journey : afterwards they were 
to come to a high hill, where there was a company or garrison of 
Philistines, who probably kept the poor Israelites there in sub- 
jection to them. There was a school of the prophets, where men 
were engaged in learning the law of God, and Saul would find 
himself strongly moved in his mind to join them, as they should 
meet them coming down from the high place : they would proba- 
bly have been sacrificing, and they should meet them returning 
with music, and prophesying or praising God; praising God 
being one sort of prophesying. 

After this Saul was to go to Gilgal, and to wait for Samuel to 
join him in offering sacrifices to God. 

Well, “ all these signs came to pass.” And when all that knew 
Saul before, saw him among the company of prophets, they asked 
each other in wonder, “ Is Saul also among the prophets V 1 

And Samuel called the people together at Mizpeh, and told 
them, of what great things God had done for them, from time to 
time, ever since he delivered them out of Egypt ; and how un- 
grateful it was in them to want a king to rule over them ; 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


396 

and then the king was ehosen by lot. By the first lot, the tribe 
of Benjamin was singled out from all the tribes ; then the family 
of Matri, of that tribe to which Saul belonged ; and then Saul 
the son of Kish. And he had modestly hid himself among the 
stuff, supposed to be the carts and baggage, brought by the peo- 
ple to Mizpeh, and when he was fetched, “ he was higher than 
any of the people, from his shoulders and upwards ;” or, as we 
said before, by his head and shoulders. And when Samuel 
showed him to the people, they were quite delighted with him ; 
and they all shouted, “God save the king!” 

Then Samuel told the people “ the manner of the kingdom 
that it was the office of the king to rule justly, and of the people 
to obey his lawful commands. These things were written in a 
book, as a kind of agreement between them, which was carefully 
laid up among the records of the kingdom. 

And now, most of the people being sent away by Samuel, 
went home, except some who attended on Saul, willingly, as a 
kind of body-guard ; and some others who did not like him as 
king, — perhaps they did not think he was of a family great 
enough — and so these men of Belial, or wicked men, began to in- 
sult him ; but in this instance he showed only a good temper, and 
took no notice of them, but “ held his peace.” 

Thus you have the beginning of the Kings of Israel, whose his- 
tory we shall now for some time have to read. 


THE ELEVENTH CHAPTER OF I. SAMUEL. 

SauVs victory over the Ammonites. 

“And it was so on the morrow, that Saul put the people in 
three companies, and they came into the midst of the host in 
the morning watch, and slew the Ammonites, until the heat 
of the day : and it came to pass, that they which remained 
were scattered, so that two of them were not left together.” — 
Ver. 11. 


Saul began his reign by a very brave action. Nahash, who 
was pfobably a king of the Ammonites, went and encamped or 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


397 

sat himself down with his army in tents, round Jabesh-Gilead, a 
fortified place belonging to the Israelites, near the country of the 
Ammonites. 

So as he was very strong, and the garrison were very weak, — * 
and still weaker in faith, or they would have trusted in God, and 
tried their force against the enemy — it was proposed to Nahash 
that they would surrender and be his slaves, if he would tell 
them on what terms he would spare their lives. 

Nahash told them that they must all have their right eyes 
thrust out. His object in wishing to do this cruel action, was 
chiefly to cripple the men of Jabesh-Gilead, so that they might 
not fight any more ; for in those times they fought with shields 
in their left hands, which were held up partly before their left 
eye ; so that if a soldier lost his right eye he was the same as one 
blind, for any use that he could be of in the field of battle. He 
was also pleased at the thought of putting the Israelites to pain, 
and of casting a disgrace upon all the people of Israel, who, he 
thought, were not inclined to help their distressed brethren. 

The men of Jabesh then asked for seven days to settle the 
matter, and promised that if, at the end of that time, they could 
get no help, they would surrender. 

When the news reached Gibeah, where Saul was, the people, 
after the Eastern manner, lifted up their voices and wept so loud- 
ly, that when Saul, who, after the simple manner of living in those 
days, came — not from a palace, but from the fields where he had 
been attending the herds, — he was attracted by their distress, and 
asked what was the matter. When he was told what Nahash in- 
tended to do, the Spirit of God came upon him, and gave him 
courage and wisdom. “ And he took a yoke of oxen and hewed 
them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the coasts of Israel 
by the hands of messengers, saying, Whosoever cometh not forth 
after Saul, and after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen : 
and the fear of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out 
with one consent.” By sending the pieces of oxen, Saul gave the 
people to understand, that if they did not help their brethren, 
they should be severely punished, and they should be deprived 
of their principal wealth, which consisted of cattle. 


398 


CHILD 6 COMMENTATOR. 


Saul soon collected an army of three hundred and thirty thou- 
sand men, and the messengers went back to Jabesh-Gilead to tell 
the garrison that by the time the sun was hot, — or about the 
noon of the morrow,— they should have help ; and they were 
glad enough at the news. 

Perhaps the time was nearly gone for them to surrender, and 
their hopes were very low, so that now their joy was greater ; and 
concealing from their foes that they would have help, they merely 
sent them a message that they would keep their word and be with 
them at the appointed time : — “ To-morrow we will come out un- 
to you, and ye shall do with us all that seemeth good unto you.” 

Early on the morning of that day in which the Ammonites ex- 
pected to enjoy their cruel triumph over the. people of Jabesh- 
Gilead, Saul came suddenly upon them with his great army, which 
he divided into three parts, so that it fell upon the foe in three 
places at once, and being taken by surprise, they ran away in all 
directions, and Saul chased them till the heat of the day. 

Pleased with Saul’s bravery and success, the people now said, 
“ Who is he that said, Shall Saul reign over us ] bring the men, 
that we may put them to death.” But Saul very generously 
forgave those that had insulted him, and said, “ There shall not a 
man be put to death this day ; for to-day the Lord hath wrought 
salvation in Israel.” 

And now his right to the kingdom was renewed atGilgal, sacri- 
fices were offered to the Lord, and the day was spent in rejoicing. 


THE TWELFTH CHAPTER OF I. SAMUEL. 

Samuel's farewell address to Israel. 

“ Only fear the Lord and serve him in truth with all your neart , 
for consider how great things he hath done for you. 

“ But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye 
and your king.” — Vers. 24, 25. 

Samuel now grew old ; and, as the people had got the king 
whom they had chosen, he gave up the power which he had held 
for their good. 


child’s commentator. 399 

And do but observe how boldly this good man could appeal to 
all Israel for the goodness of his character : — 1 “ Behold, here I am : 
witness against me before the Lord, and before his anointed, 
whose ox have I taken ? — or whose ass have I taken ? — or whom 
have I defrauded? — whom have I oppressed ? — or of whose hand 
have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith ?— and I 
will restore it you. And they said, Thou hast not defrauded 
us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken ought of any man’s 
hand.” 

Rulers in free countries like England cannot easily oppress 
those under them ; but in the East, they are great tyrants, and 
often take away what wealth they please from those who have 
gained it by industry ; so that those who are rich are sometimes 
obliged to feign themselves poor, lest their princes should rob 
them, or, what is still worse, kill them, to get at their money. 
While all around them, the people of Israel saw these oppressors, 
it was a very striking appeal which Samuel made to them, in 
behalf of his good government while he ruled over them ; and 
it showed that they were a discontented and ungrateful people, 
that, while God provided such a man to rule them , their foolish 
pride should desire to have a king, and so to be like the heathen 
nations in grandeur. 

In taking his farewell, as the ruler of Israel, Samuel also re- 
minded them of God’s goodness to them and their fathers — of the 
miseries their fathers had suffered, when they forsook God — of 
their repentance — of God’s gracious regard to them, and his glo- 
rious deliverances of them from their enemies, and then, of his 
even condescending to give them a king, when they so much 
wished for one. And now, he would also tell them, that under 
this new government they were still not to think themselves free 
from the government of God, whom, if they obeyed, they should 
be happy ; but if they disobeyed, they must be miserable. 

Then, to show that what Samuel spoke was true, and by his 
direction, God, at Samuel’s word, sent “ thunder and rain,” at a 
time of the year, when, in that country, the like was never 
known. It was the time of “ wheat harvest,” which is there about 
the end of June or beginning of July ; and one who lived there 



m 


child’s commentator. 


for several years, says, that at that time he never saw any rain 
in Judea. So “all the people greatly feared the Lord and 
Samuel.” 


THE THIRTEENTH CHAPTER OF I. SAMUEL. 

Saul rejected from being king. 

“ And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly : thou hast 
not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he 
commanded thee : for now would the Lord have established 
thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. 

“ But now thy kingdom shall not continue : the Lord hath sought 
him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded 
him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept 
that which the Lord commanded thee.” — Vers. 13, 14. 


“ Saul reigned one year,” and then he entered upon the second 
year of his reign, when he did very foolishly. 

He raised an army, much too small to contend with the Phi- 
listines, and then his son J onathan smote a garrison of them that 
was in Geba ; and it is thought that this was done treacherously, 
while all the parties were in a state of peace, and resting on each 
other’s word ; for something of the kind is meant by its being 
said, that “ all Israel also was had in abomination with the Phi- 
listines.” The Philistines vowed vengeance against them for 
such unfair dealing, and abominated them on account of it. 

And now “ the Philistines gathered themselves together, to 
fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horse- 
men, and people, which is as the sand which is on the sea-shore 
in multitude.” 

The Israelites now found, that though they had a king, like the 
heathen, yet he could not give them courage, for never were 
their hearts so faint. “For the people were distressed ; then the 
people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in 



child’s COMMENTATOR. 401 


rocks, and in high places, and in pits. Some, also, went a great 
way off, over Jordan, and all those that stayed with Saul “fol- 
lowed him trembling.” 

Now Samuel had told Saul to go to Gilgal and wait there for 
him seven days, and he would come and meet him and offer sacri- 
fices for him and the people. So Saul went to Gilgal and waited 
till the seventh day ; but not having patience to wait till the end 
of the day, as Samuel had not come — he thought that he would 
not be there at all, and so he called for the sacrifices, and offered 
them himself. Now this was very wicked, for he was only a 
king, and neither a priest nor a prophet : so, that in offering sac- 
rifices, he had profaned the most sacred things, and dared to take 
upon himself the most solemn office without God’s command. 

Presently came Samuel, according to his promise ; and Saul 
told him that he had waited so long that he began to think he 
would not come, and he was afraid that the Philistines would 
fall upon him before the sacrifices were offered up j and so, much 
against his will, he had turned priest himself. Then Samuel 
told him how foolishly he had done, and that, for this act of dis- 
obedience to God, against which he had had sufficient warning, 
he should lose his kingdom, and it should go to another man — 
one after God’s own heart, who would not so profane his holy 
things. 

Saul now mustered his army, and found he had no more than 
six hundred men left with him. A fine army, indeed, for a king ! 
so low was the pride of Israel now brought ! 

The Philistines, in the mean time* divided themselves into 
three companies, who went different ways, that they might get 
provisions and pillage the country. 

The few Israelites that followed Saul, were also without swords 
or spears — they could have nothing else to fight with but clubs or 
slings, or bows and arrows, made of wood only, which would be 
poor weapons ; for, when the Philistines had before beaten them, 
they had taken away all their forges to make iron, and their 
workers in that metal, so that no swords, spears, or arrow-heads, 
could be made ; and the Israelites even went down to the Philis- 
tines to sharpen their ploughshares and other instruments, which 



402 



child’s commentator. 

they used to till the field. “ So it came to pass, in the day of 
battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand 
of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan ; but with 
Saul and with Jonathan his son, was there found they only had 
swords. 


THE FOURTEENTH CHAPTER OF I. SAMUEL. 

Jonathan's bold attack of the Philistines. 

“ And J onathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet, and 
his armour-bearer after him; and they fell before Jonathan, 
and his armour-bearer slew after him.” — Ver. 13. 


While the Israelites were in their weak state, the Philistines I 

never attacked them ; this can only be accounted for from their j 

hearts being under God’s controul, and he withheld them from 
doing Israel harm. Saul could do nothing, and he and his men ] 

pitched quietly under a tree. | 

Jonathan, Saul’s son, was a very brave young man; and God ' 
put it into his heart to fall upon the Philistines, having no other 
helper than his armour-bearer, or the man that carried his spear 
and shield, that They might not fatigue him, but leave him the 
more fresh for using them in battle. 

So “ Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armour, 

Come, and let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised : 
it may be that the Lord will work for us : for there is no restraint 
to the Lord, to save by many or by few. And his armour- 
bearer said unto him, Do all that is in thine heart : turn thee, 
behold, I am with thee according to thy heart.” 

Then Jonathan gave a sign to the armour-bearer, by which he 
might know if it was wise to attack the Philistines. 

When the Philistines saw Jonathan, they probably laughed at 
him, and they said, “ Come up to us and we will show you a 
thing.” Perhaps they thought that Jonathan would not dare to 



CHILD 6 COMMENTATOR. 


403 

venture, and so they mocked him. Now these words were the 
sign which Jonathan had looked for ; and by speaking so, the 
Philistines showed that they did not care for the Israelites, and 
seemed to make sure of beating them. Jonathan boldly accepted 
of the challenge, and climbed up the steep rock on which the fori 
was built, where the Philistine garrison was, followed by his ar- 
mour-bearer. Perhaps the Philistines did not think he could do 
so, and he might suddenly have come upon them, springing from 
under the top of the rock before they thought of any danger, — 
and when they saw him followed by another, they might fancy, 
at the moment, that they were taken by surprise by the whole 
army. God, too, who had prompted Jonathan to what he did, 
and gave him and his armour-bearer courage, made the Philis- 
tines become cowards, for “ they fell before Jonathan ;” who, 
most likely, knocked them down, “and his armour-bearer slew 
after him.” So Jonathan and his armour-bearer slew about twen- 
ty men in a small space of ground, which a couple of oxen might 
plough over in' a day. 

The news of the destruction of this little garrison was imme- 
diately carried to the army : and God so ordered it, that they 
and all the people became cowards too, and were, what we call, 
in such a case, panic-struck. 

Some of Saul’s men were on the look-out, to see that the Phi- 
listines did not surprise him ; and they saw a great movement 
among their armies, “ and behold, the multitude melted away,” 
grew less and less, like snow melted by the sun, “ and they went 
on beating one another.” The fright of the Philistines had gone 
from the garrison to the camp ; the men had run away, and either 
in clearing a way to escape, or — by mistake, likely to be made 
in a fright — taking their own troops for Israelites, who, they 
might suppose, had got in in disguise amongst them, they drew 
their swords upon each other, and so made terrible havoc in their 
armies. 

Saul, seeing this, wondered which of his regiments had gone 
out to battle, and called a muster to examine them, when no 
men were missing but Jonathan and his armour-bearer. 

Saul was now about to consult the priest what he was to do, 





404 child’s commentator. 

but the confusion among the Philistines having increased, he 
thought there was no time to lose, and so he and all his men 
went to the battle, where they found the Philistines fighting one 
another ; and the Hebrews, or Israelites, who had been kept pri- 
soners in the country of the Philistines, took the opportunity to 
get free, and joined the armies of their countrymen, and all those 
who had hid themselves, now took courage and came to the bat- 
tle. “ So the Lord saved Israel that day.” 

Saul now resolved to pursue his enemies ; and he pronounced 
a curse against any of his soldiers who should eat food till the 
evening; for he thought, that whilst they stopped to eat, the 
enemy would escape. This was not wise, for they would have 
been all the stronger to pursue them. However, the people 
obeyed, and none of them tasted any food. 

Jonathan was, of course, quite ignorant of what his father had 
commanded, as when he gave the command, he himself was fight- 
ing against the Philistines. So when he came tq a wood, where 
there was much wild honey in the hollow trees and rocks, in which 
the bees had put it, as they do with us in hives — seeing some of 
it running on the ground, having burst the comb, as it sometimes j 

will, with the hot weather — he thought he would just taste it. i 

He had no time to stop, but having a rod, or long stick, in his ' 

hand, he dipped the end of it into the honey, and when he had 
eaten it, his eyes, which had grown dim from fatigue, became 
quite refreshed, and “ were enlightened,” or brightened up. 

One of the people now told Jonathan what his father had com- 
manded ; and he was very sorry that he had given such an order, 
for he said if the people had been allowed to eat freely, there 
would have been a much greater slaughter of the Philistines, in- 
stead of which they had become weak, and not able to pursue 
the enemy, for want of food. 

And now another evil grew out of Saul’s rash command ; for 
as soon as the people durst eat, they flew upon their food like 
hungry wild beasts, and would not even wait for it to be dressed, 
but contrary to the express command of God, they ate it, brute 
like, while it was yet warm and bleeding. 

Saul was to blame for this, but he blamed the people, and said, 



CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


405 


“ Ye have transgressed.” When people do a wrong thing, how 
ready they often are to lay the fault upon others. I fear my 
young readers have sometimes been guilty of so doing. To pre- 
vent the people eating any more creatures with their warm blood, 
Saul desired a great stone to be rolled before him, and the cattle 
to be killed in his presence, so he would see that it should be 
properly eaten. This stone was probably turned into an altar, 
for “ Saul built an altar unto the Lord : the same was the first 
altar that he built unto the Lord.” 

Saul now proposed to renew the pursuit of the Philistines, and 
to go after them all night ; but the priest advised him to ask 
counsel of God, and the answer was, not that day. Saul, then, 
probably supposing that the answer was given as a sign of some- 
thing having been done wrong, and guessing that his law against 
eating had been broken, appealed to God by solemnly casting 
lots, and the lot fell upon Jonathan. Poor Jonathan intimated 
that it was indeed a very hard case, that for tasting a little bit of 
honey, fatigued as he was with fighting, he should be doomed to 
die, but Saul said, “ Thou shalt surely die, Jonathan.” But Jona- 
than had not broken God’s law, and God had shown him great 
honour, in that he had wrought or worked with God in destroy- 
ing the enemies of Israel that day, and so the people pleaded for 
him, and they said that not a hair oY his head should be hurt ; 
and we may suppose that Saul, when he was a little come to him- 
self, and out of his passion, was very well pleased that he had 
been saved from killing so brave a son. “ So the people rescued 
Jonathan that he died not.” 

The rest of the chapter tells us of what further Saul did against 
the enemies of Israel, and the names of his sons and daughters, 
and other persons connected with him, and his policy in recruit- 
ing his army by getting all the strong and brave men into it, 
wherever he could find them. 


408 


child’s commentator. 


THE FIFTEENTH CHAPTER OF I. SAMUEL. 

The Amalekites destroyed. 

“ Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight 
against them until they be consumed.” — Ver. 18. 


In this chapter we learn that God sent Samuel to Saul, with a 
command to go and destroy the people of Amalek, and to spare 
nothing that belonged to them ; even little infants and sucklings, 
and every kind of beast. 

This sentence was very severe, but God never punishes without 
a cause, and Samuel gave the reason for it ; “ Thus saith the Lord 
of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he 
laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.” 

We have the particular account of what the Amalekites did in 
the twenty-sixth chapter of Deuteronomy, and the seventeenth 
and eighteenth verses, — how, when the Israelites were faint and 
weary, they fell upon the people and smote the hindmost of them ; 
and God then purposed that he would blot out that wicked nation 
from the face of the earth, as we blot out any word with ink that 
is written in a book, — and that this should be done when Israel 
had got rest from their enemies round about, — and though now 
it was four hundred years since their offence, God performed his 
word. God does not forget sin if we do, and he will remember 
sooner or later, and punish it most severely, except we repent 
and seek for pardon. These Amalekites were, indeed, not the 
same as those that had at first injured Israel, but no doubt they 
had the same spirit of enmity towards them, and towards their 
God, and therefore God visited them at last with a sore destruc- 
tion. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living 
God.” 

Saul did not, however, slay the Kenites who dwelt among the 
people of Amalek, for they had not partaken of their sins. Jeth- 
ro, the father-in-law of Moses was one of the Kenites. 


CHILD 8 COMMENTATOR. 


407 

And now, as God’s executioner of a set of vile criminals, “ Saul 
smote the Amalekites,” but he did not do all his work as God had 
commanded, for he spared Agag, perhaps because he was a great 
man ; and he thought it a pity that all the fine cattle should be 
slain, and so he killed only the worst, and kept the best. 

Now, it is very wicked to do just as much of God’s commands 
as we please, and leave the rest undone. So did Saul, and God 
was displeased with him. And God said, “ It repenteth me that 
I have set up Saul to be king,” meaning that he would now act 
as men did when they repent and alter what they purposed, — 
‘‘for he is turned back from following me, and hath not perform 
ed my commandments.” 

So Samuel went to Saul, and asked how he came to keep the 
sheep and oxen. And Saul, to excuse himself, said that “ the peo- 
ple spared” them, and that they were only preserved to offer to 
God. These were poor excuses, which Samuel knew were not 
true, for the people would not have dared to spare the beasts, if 
Saul had not told them to do so, — and he had probably not kept 
them to sacrifice, but for his own use : but if it were so, “ to obey 
is better than sacrifice,” and God would have been satisfied at his 
doing his commands, but could not be so at his choosing to act 
after his own fancy. So Samuel said, “ Because thou hast rejected 
the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.” 

On learning God’s displeasure, Saul began to confess that he 
had done wrongly, and owned that he had feared the people, when 
he ought to have feared God only, though still it is thought he 
only made the people’s will an excuse for his own. And he tried 
to get Samuel, as God’s prophet, to speak pardon to him, but he 
could not. “ And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid 
hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent.” This, Samuel as 
a prophet, said, was a sign of what God would certainly do. 
“ And Samuel said unto him. The Lord hath rent the kingdom of 
Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine 
that is better than thou.” And he also told him — what we should 
always remember when we think on God’s words — that he, “ the 
strength of Israel, will not lie nor repent.” He had, indeed, just 
6aid that he had repented of making him king, but I told you that 


408 


child’s commentator. 


this only meant, that by taking away his crown, he would act 
just as we do when we repent ; but God’s mind never changes, for 
he knew beforehand that Saul would do evil and deprive himself 
of his crown. 

Samuel then did what Saul had left undone, and he passed sen- 
tence of death on Agag ; and you will see that he did so not 
without a cause, for he had been a very cruel man, and no doubt 
his people had been as cruel and wicked as he, and so shared 
justly in his fate. “ And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made 
women childless,” or, as thou hast cruelly slain many a beloved 
child, to the great grief of the heart-broken mother, “ so shall thy 
mother,” who perhaps had escaped, “be childless among wo- 
men and herein she too was punished, who had perhaps praised 
her son for the cruel deeds he had done. “ And Samuel hewed 
Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.” 

Thus the Amalekites were destroyed as a nation, though some 
are afterwards mentioned, who probably escaped from the sword 
of Saul, and fled out of the kingdom. 


THE SIXTEENTH CHAPTER OF I. SAMUEL. 

David anointed to be King of Israel. 

“ Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the 
midst of his brethren ; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon 
David from that day forward.” — Ver. 13 

Samuel had retired to live quietly at Ramah, but God now 
commanded him to take a horn of oil, and go to Jesse the Beth- 
lehemite, and anoint one of his sons to be king. 

But Samuel was afraid that Saul would find out his business, 
and in revenge slay him. However, to comfort his mind, God 
ordered him to go to Bethlehem and offer up a sacrifice, which as 
a priest he could do, and which was very proper to be done on 
such an occasion, and Saul would not then suspect any part of 
his business. r 






411 



child’s commentator. 


As soon as Samuel had arrived at Bethlehem, the people feared, 
lest perhaps, as God’s prophet, he might have some sentence to 
denounce against them for some sins which they had done, and 
they asked him if he came peaceably, and he told them that he 
came to sacrifice to the Lord. “And he sanctified Jesse and his 
sons, and called them to the sacrifice.” 

The first son that made his appearance was called Eliab, and 
he was handsome and tall, and Samuel thought that he must cer- 
tainly be the one whom God had chosen to be king, for people 
then usually preferred a fine tall man for this rank. However, 
God told Samuel that he did not look at the outward appearance, 
but at the heart, and that Eliab was not the man whom he had 
chosen. Then seven of Jesse’s sons passed by Samuel, one af- 
ter another, and there were no more remaining. At last Samuel 
t asked Jesse if he had no other son ; and he told him there was 
'I another, but he was the youngest, and he was then keeping some 

i sheep. So Samuel desired that he should be fetched. “Now he 

| was ruddy,” or fresh-coloured, “ and withal of a beautiful coun- 
J tenance, and goodly to look to. And the Lord said, Arise, 
anoint him, for this is he.” 

Then Samuel anointed David, and returned to Ramah. 

From that time “ the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, 
and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him.” God permitted 
him to grow “ fretful and peevish, and discontented, timorous 
and suspicious, starting and trembling.” This made him unfit 
for business, and a burden to himself, and to all around him. 

His counsellors seeing his pitiable state, sought to relieve him, 
and knowing his mind to be distressed, they advised that music 
should be tried for it. It would have been wiser, had they told 
him to repent of his sins and pray earnestly to God ; but they 
thought that some amusement was now wanted, and so they ad- 
vised the king to have a good harp player, and whenever he felt 
his low fits coming upon him, as soon as he touched the music, 
the evil spirit would depart and he would be cheerful as others. 

The king liked the proposal, and ordered such a musician to 
be found. 

Now David, the son of Jesse, whom Samuel had anointed, was 


I 




412 child’s commentator. 


very skilful in playing the harp, and one of Saul’s counsellors 
told him of it ; and though he was little of stature, he was a brave 
man, and this Saul would also like. 

So Saul hearing a good character of him, sent for him. And 
Jesse sent a few presents with him, in token of respect to king 
Saul. “ And David came to Saul and stood before him, and he 
loved him greatly, and he became his armour-bearer.” And he 
asked David’s father to let him stay in his service. And when- 
ever Saul’s evil spirit troubled him, David played his harp j “ so 
Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed 
from him.” 

Music under proper regulations is a very agreeable and innocent 
recreation, and of great use in cheering and composing the mind. 
David’s music was, however, of a sacred kind, and God made it 
to touch Saul’s soul, that David might find favour at court, and 
be better fitted for afterwards filling the station of king himself. 


THE SEVENTEENTH CHAPTER OP I. SAMUEL. 

David's victory over Goliath . 

“Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took 
his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, 
and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw 
their champion was dead, they fled.” — Ver. 51. 


We have here the story of David’s battle with the great giant 
Goliath of Gath. 

The Israelites and the Philistines were constantly at war, and 
here we find them opposed to each other, having drawn up their 
armies on two hills with a valley between ; so that they were near 
enough to call to each other, though they must go down into the 
valley, or both stand on one or other of the hills to meet in battle. 

The Philistines were full of courage, for they had a terrible 
giant amongst them, whose name I have just mentioned. He was 
the champion of his people, — that is, one ready to defy any man 




child’s commentator. 413 

who dared to meet him in battle, and whom he could crush with 
as much ease as any man could crush an infant. Some suppose 
that he was twelve feet high, which is as tall again as one of eur 
tallest men, but others think it more probable that he was about 
ten feet, and. this is the lowest estimate that is made, which 
would make him nearly twice the height of most of the people 
we may meet in going along a street. 

He was not only very tall, but also very strong and well 
armed. He had a large brass helmet on his head, and was dress- 
ed in a coat of mail, which was like a jacket or shirt of brass, 
fastened together in small pieces, like the scales on a fish or the 
tiles on the roof of a house. Some of this sort of armour is to 
be seen in European museums. 

He had also greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass 

I i between his shoulders. These greaves were a kind of brass boots 

) which, however, only covered the front of the leg from the knee 

to the instep, so that the whole shin was protected by them ; the 
\ target was something of a covering to protect his neck and shoul- 
! ders. “ The staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam,” so that 
he could easily play, as with a sword, with a huge piece of wood 
which another man could scarcely lift. “ And his spear’s head 
weighed six hundred shekels of iron,” which is thought to be 
above eighteen pounds. The whole armour which this giant car- 
ried about him with ease, must have weighed about two hundred 
and seven ty-two pounds, which was more than four times as 
much as that of the best armed soldiers of ancient times. He 
had, as others, an armour-bearer to carry his shield. 

This strong and terrible man came forward from the Philistine 
army, and called to the Israelites to tell them, that if they could 
send a man against him to beat him, the Philistines should be 
their servants, but if not, they should serve the Philistines. He 
thought, to be sure, that nobody could venture to engage in com 
bat against him, and that he should frighten the Israelites, and 
have the laugh against them. 

Saul and Jonathan, and no doubt many others, were brave 
men among the Israelites, but “ they were dismayed and greatly 
afraid,” on account of this giant. 




414 child’s commentator. 


For forty days did Goliath thus defy and frighten the armies 
of Israel. 

Now three of David’s elder brothers happened to be in the ar- 
my, and their father Jesse desired David to leave the care of the 
sheep, and to go and take them some food, and inquire if they 
were in want of anything. And just as he got to the army, the 
people were shouting, and were about to begin to fight. And Da- 
vid ran into the army to give his brothers refreshment before the 
battle began. Just at that moment, Goliath appeared again, and 
challenged the Israelites as before. “ And all the men of Israel, 
when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.” 

Saul had offered to give any man great riches, and he should 
marry his daughter, and his father’s house should also have great 
honours, if he would dare to fight and beat this dreadful giant. 

So David asked the people what any man would have who 
overthrew him. And his brother Eliab, who looked down upon 
him with contempt because he was younger and shorter than he, 
rebuked him for asking the question. But David still continued 
to ask it, that it might reach the ears of Saul, and he patiently 
bore the most ill-natured words from his brother. 

At last Saul sent for David, and David told him he would go 
and fight the Philistine. But Saul said -he was only a youth, 
while Goliath had long been a man of war, how then could he 
hope to beat him ? 

Then David told him that he had more courage and strength 
than he supposed, for he had once fought and killed a lion and a 
bear, that came to steal some of his father’^ flock, and, said he, 
“ thy servant slew both the lion and the bear, and this uncircum- 
cised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the 
armies of the living God.” And then he told him why he was so 
bold, because he trusted in God to help him : “ the Lord that de- 
livered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the 
bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.” 

Saul could not any longer object. He saw that God was with 
David to help him, and he said, “ Go, and the Lord be with thee.” 

So Saul put his own armour upon David, but when it was on 
him, David said, it must be taken off, for he had not proved, or 




was not used to such a sort of armour, and therefore it would 
only be a hindrance to him. 

Then “ he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth 
stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag which 
he had, even in a scrip, and his sling was in his hand, and he 
drew near to the Philistine.” 

Now David was very active, and he was clever in throwing a 
stone from a sling, and God gave him more than common strength 
and skill on this occasion. 

The Philistine marched forward in a very stately manner, and 
his armour-bearer was before him, bearing his shield. And when 
he saw David, he disdained him, and seeing his staff in his hand, 
he asked him if he thought that he was no better than a dog, that 
he should dare to come to fight him with nothing but a stick, and 
he was so enraged, that he cursed David by his gods. And then 
he said to him in angry ridicule, “ Come to me, and I will give 
thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.” 
This was indeed a frightful threat, uttered perhaps with a hoarse 
and strong voice like the growl of a lion ; but David did not fear 
the boaster, and he replied, “ Thou comest to me with a sword 
and with a spear, and with a shield ; but I come to thee in the 
name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, 
whom thou hast defied. This day will the Lord deliver thee into 
mine hand, and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee, 
and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day 
unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth ; that 
all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all 
this assembly shall know that that the Lord saveth not with sword 
and spear ; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into 
our hands.” 

See how different was the language of David to that of the 
Philistine. Goliath talked of what he himself would do ; but 
David said, “ The Lord will deliver thee into my hand,” and he 
did not trust in God in vain. 

And now the combat began ; “ the Philistine arose and came 
and drew nigh to meet David.” And David ran to meet this huge 
man, moving like a mountain and cased in brass W e may sup- 




vr/ 


416 child’s commentator. 

pose that Goliath reckoned that in a few moments he should cut 
off the head of this rash youth, and laugh at the folly of the Isra- 
elites in sending forth such a champion ; while the Israelites 
quaked, lest the fair form of such a courageous youth should fall 
beneath the sword of this tyrant. 

But they had not long to think. “ David put his hand in his 
bag, and took thence a stone and slang it, and smote the Philis- 
tine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead ; and he 
fell upon his face to the earth.” He was covered with brass in 
every other part but his face, and at this David took sure aim, 
and had he failed the first time, he had still four stones left. 
Some think that he had a covering over his forehead called the 
beaver of the helmet, and that he had put it up, or David’s stone 
would not have killed him ; but we are told in ancient writings, 
that good slingers would even break in pieces shields, helmets, 
and all kinds of armour, so that, even then, the stone might have 
passed through the armour into the forehead. 

“ So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with 
a stone, and smote the Philistine and slew him.” Then, having 
no sword of his own, David took that of the Philistine, and cut 
off his head. 

And now, the Philistines having lost their champion, were in a 
terrible state of alarm. They were not willing to throw down 
their arms and be the slaves of Israel, as had been proposed by 
Goliath ; and so the Israelites fell upon them as they fled, and 
pursued them to the very gates of their own cities. 

David now took the head of Goliath with him to Jerusalem, 
and Saul saw him, and though he had played before him when he 
was melancholy, owing to his state of mind at that time, he did 
jtot remember him, and inquired whose son he was; and he 
learnt that this hero was a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite. 




child's commentator. 


417 


THE EIGHTEENTH, NINETEENTH, AND TWENTIETH CHAPTERS OP 
I. SAMUEL. 

Jonathan 1 s love to David , and Saul's hatred of him , and attempts 
to take his life. 

“ And David sware, moreover, and said, Thy father certainly 
knoweth that I have found grace in thine eyes : and he saith, 
Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved ; but, surely 
as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step 
between me and death.” — Chap. xx. 3. 


David was now entirely taken into Saul’s court, and Jonathan, 
Saul’s son, seeing him to be so brave and good, loved him very 
much, and made an agreement with him, that let what would 
happen, they should always be friends ; and as presents of clothes 
are marks of respect and friendship in the East, Jonathan strip- 
ped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, 
and his garments, “ even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his 
girdle so he lost the humble dress of a shepherd, and was now 
fit to appear among the people of the court. 

Saul also made David a commander over all his troops, and 
on every expedition on which he sent him, he showed himself so 
brave and wise that every body respected him. 

Saul now went everywhere about his kingdom to meet his 
people in triumph, because the Philistines, — the great enemies of 
Israel, — were so completely beaten. And the women, as usual on 
such occasions, “ came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and 
dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with in- 
struments music. And the women answered one another as 
they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David 
his ten thousands this was probably the chorus of their song of 
victory. It was rather vexing to Saul to hear David so exalted 
above himself, and perhaps it was not quite wise in the women to 
praise the general above the king, especially as Saul’s haughty 
16 



418 child’s commentator. 


spirit must have been known ; however, it was a fact, that Saul 
had only fought with portions of the Philistines, while when 
David beat them, their whole army was drawn out. 

From that day Saul eyed David with much jealousy, and his 
evil spirit returned ; and while David was kindly trying to soothe 
him by playing his music, Saul artfully pretended to prophesy 
or to pray, so that David could expect no ill design. At the 
same time, Saul held a javelin or dart in his hand, and cast it at 
David, intending to thrust him through, even so as to fasten him 
to the wall. 

Jealousy is a sad passion, and is often exercised by bad men 
against good ones, even for excelling them in doing good things ; 
and in aiming to make this passion act to the injury of the inno- 
cent, pretences to religion are sometimes put on. You must not, 
therefore, wonder if you occasionally hear of good men being used 
1 ill or ungratefully, for doing good actions ; nor if you hear that 
f some have been ill-treated, while those hurting them have pre- 
tended to be very religious. But, as you must surely despise 
the attempt of Saul to kill David, after he had saved the nation, 
so I hope you will ever learn to avoid jealous feelings towards 
others who may be praised more than you, and to abhor seeming 
to do pious things, when you have only a bad design concealed 
under them. If you are artful while you are young, you will 
become more so when you grow up to be men, and nothing is 
more to be despised than a cunning, artful man. 

Saul was now afraid of David, and perhaps thought that he 
would grow too strong for him, by growing in favour with the 
people ; so to get rid of him, and in hopes that he might be slain, 
he gave him a command, and sent him out to the wars. But he 
behaved so well, that he still increased in favour with Israel. 

Saul, as you have been told, had promised the man who should 
meet Goliath, that he should marry his daughter as a mark of 
great honour ; however, he broke his word, and gave his eldest 
daughter to another, when she ought to have been David’s wife. 

But the king had another daughter called Michal, and she was 
very fond of David. And Saul said he would give her to him, 
if within a certain time, he would kill a hundred more Philis- 




child’s commentator. 419 


tines. So David killed the Philistines in the time required of 
him, and married Saul’s daughter. 

Saul was no better pleased on this account, for he had now 
made David a greater man than he was before, but he was vexed 
that his plans to destroy David had not succeeded, and he became 
David’s enemy continually. 


Then “ Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, 
that they should kill David;” but Jonathan, like a true friend, 
told David, and advised him to get out of his way till he had 
tried to plead in his behalf. 

Then Jonathan spoke to his father, and told him what great 
good David had done to the country, and how innocent his con- 
duct was towards him, and that it would be very cruel and un- 
just to put him to death. And Saul was persuaded by Jonathan, 
and declared that he would think no more of doing him harm. 
So after this promise David was permitted to go into Saul’s pre- 
sence as before. 

Soon after this, there was war again, and David triumphed 
gloriously over the Philistines, so that Saul was again jealous of 
him ; and his evil spirit returned, and David, as before, played 
his harp to amuse him ; and again he flung his javelin furiously 
at him, so that it stuck in the wall, but God preserved David, 
and he slipped away without receiving any harm. 

Saul now resolved that David should escape no more, and so 
he sent messengers to lie in wait for him at his own house. Mi- 
chal, his wife, saw what was going on, and she advised David to 
escape, and as they guarded the doors, she “ let David down 
through a window ; and he went and fled and escaped.” 

“ And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a 
pillow of goat’s hair for his bolster, and covered it with a cloth. 
And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, he is 
sick.” She meant the image to appear in the bed like a sick per- 
son lying there, so that if the officers came, they either would not 
touch a sick man, or perhaps, if they even stabbed the place, 
they might go away and suppose they had killed David, and so 



420 


child’s commentator. 


seek no more after him. At all events, by framing this excuse, 
she gained time for him to escape, and to get too far off for his 
foes to pursue him. But it was very wrong in her to tell a lie ; 
for this she certainly did, and there was not even an excuse for 
it, for David was already out of harm’s way. 

Saul was now so resolved to kill David that if he were sick he 
could not wait for him to die, but desired that he might be taken 
to his sick bed to kill him. O what a malicious, wicked man, 
does Saul here appear ! 

The next time the messengers went, they looked more closely 
into the bed, to see how David was ; and then they found that 
Michal had cheated them, and that nothing was there but an 
image. And Saul, on learning this, was very angry with his 
daughter, who would have been a wicked woman indeed, had she 
delivered up her innocent husband to be slain. 

Michal was afraid of her father, knowing what a passionate 
man he was, and she seems to have been but too ready to tell a 
lie, for she now excused herself, by saying what could never have 
happened with David, for he was not blood-thirsty : “ He said 
unto me, Let me go ; why should I kill thee ?” that is, ‘ If you 
try to prevent my escaping, I will run you through.’ 

In the mean time David escaped in safety to Samuel, at Ra- 
mah ; “ and he and Samuel went and dw r elt in Naioth.” 

When Saul found out where he was, he again sent messengers to 
take him, and they found Samuel’s scholars in his school of young 
prophets, prophesying or praising God, and probably, David with 
them ; for it was a work in which his heart delighted. And “ the 
Spirit of God was upon the messengers of Saul, and they also 
prophesied,” or praised God. These not returning, Saul sent again, 
and it happened the same with them. Then he sent a third time, 
and it still happened the same. So at last he resolved to go him- 
self, and now God touched his heart, and he too caught the spirit 
of praise, and began to prophesy with the others, to the wonder of 
all, so that they said, “Is Saul also among the prophets?” And 
this question is now turned into a kind of proverb, or common 
saying, so that when a wicked man puts on the pretence of reli- 
gion, we ask the question, “ Is Saul also among the prophets ?” 




While Saul was at Naioth, David escaped to Jonathan, whom 
he still found a faithful friend. He then told him of his father’s 
settled intention to take away his life; but, knowing that David 
had done nothing to deserve Saul’s hatred, Jonathan could hardly 
believe it, and perhaps thought that what he had before done, 
was when he was not exactly in his right mind. 

Then David told him, that on the morrow the king would ex- 
pect to see him fill his place at table, and if he missed him and 
expressed himself angry, he might be sure that he would but show 
how he felt towards him ; but if he did not break out in ill woids, 
he might hope for the best. And Jonathan agreed to meet him 
in three days, at an appointed place, and to take a lad with him ; 
and he was to shoot some arrows near where David was to lie con- 
cealed, and he would tell the lad to run and fetch the arrows ; 
and if he said, “ The arrows are on this side of thee,” then David 
might go in peace, and be sure Saul had not shown any intention 
to do him harm : but if he told him, “ The arrows are beyond 
thee,” then David was to save himself, for he would be in danger. 

So, on the next day, David’s place at table was not filled ; but 
the king, supposing that some uncleanness, according to the law, 
prevented him from being present that day, said nothing about 
his absence. However, the day following he again missed him, 
and asked Jonathan about him, and was very angry not to see 
him ; and he desired David to be brought to him to be executed. 
But Jonathan asked, “ Wherefore shall he be slain? What hath 
he done ?” At this Saul was still more angry, “ and he cast a 
javelin at him to smite him.” So Jonathan left the table, and 
was very angry in turn, for his father made him grieved for Da- 
vid, because he was wrongly made to suffer shame. 

Faithful to his word, as upright people always must be, Jona- 
than went on the morrow to the place appointed in a field, took 
a lad with him, and shot the arrows, and gave the sign by which 
David knew that his life was still in danger from Saul. 

As probably no one appeared near, Jonathan then ventured to 
go to David’s hiding-place, first sending the lad away with his 
bow and arrows. 

Then David and “Jonathan kissed one another, and wept one 






4:22 child’s commentator. 


with another,” and made a vow to be faithful to one another, and 
to each other’s children for the fathers’ sakes. 

David then “ arose and departed, and Jonathan went into the 
city.” 


THE TWENTY-FIRST CHAPTER OF I. SAMUEL. 

David eats the shew-bread — Feigns himself mad at Gath. 

“ So the priest gave him hallowed bread ; for there was no bread 
there but the shew-bread that was taken from before the Lord, 
to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away. 

“ And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the 
king of the land 1 — did they not sing one to another of him in 
dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his 
ten thousands'? I 

“ And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid I 
of Achish the king of Gath. 1 

“ And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself 
mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and S i 
let his spittle fall down upon his beard. 

“ Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, you see the man is 1 
mad, wherefore then have ye brought him to me ?” — Vers. 6, 1 

11 , 12 , 13 , 14 . 


As Jonathan had no power to protect David against Saul his 
father, David took to flight, and went to Nob to visit Ahimelech 
the priest, who “ inquired of the Lord for him.” As he was very 
hungry, he also gave him some of the shew-bread which belonged 
to the priests, and which had been set a proper time before the 
Lord in the sacred place, to be replaced by hot bread, which 
would likewise remain a proper time and then be removed for 
the priests in the same way. 

Of this shew-bread you have before read in the chapter on the 
Tabernacle and its Furniture ; it was to consist of twelve loaves 
of unleavened bread, or bread without yeast, — one being weekly 
presented for every tribe, and after having remained from the 



child's commentator. 


423 


Sabbath day on which they were presented, till tne next Sabbath 
day, when fresh ones were presented, they became the perqui- 
sites of the priests, to help to support them. 

Ahimelech, indeed, at first objected to David’s having any of 
this food, designed only for persons who always were employed 
in serving the Lord ; and especially did he object to any of his 
servants partaking of it. You have often been told, dear reader, 
that there were many ceremonies under Moses’s law, and this 
will account for the remark of the priest, that if David’s servants 
had not lately kept company with women, they might eat of the 
holy bread. This was like the law which made it defiling to 
touch a dead body, and many others for which we can assign no 
other reason than that they were ceremonies, having all of them 
important meanings, which were doubtless well understood by 
pious Jews. 

Ahimelech also let David take away with him Goliath’s sword, 
which, according to the custom of those times, being a valuable 
trophy or proof of victory, was laid up in the sacred place. 

It must not, however, be passed over that Ahimelech was quite 
surprised to see David, who was lately the favourite at court, 
come to him without any but common attendants, and he said, 
“Why art thou alone, and no man with thee?” not that there 
was no person with him of any kind, for there were “ young 
men,” inferior servants, — but he meant to say, “ How is it that 
you have no grand attendants with you? I fear all is not right ; 
and if so, I may displease the king by doing any kindness tc 
you.” David, to save himself, was guilty of saying what was not 
true, and he pretended that he was going on a particular errand 
for Saul, and as it was a secret, his servants were sent away. 

It is a shocking thing for any one to tell a lie, but still more 
for a good man to be guilty of such a thing. And you would 
perhaps be puzzled to know what to make of it, if you happened 
to observe it, without an explanation. Well then, you must ob- 
serve, that by deceiving this priest, David brought a dreadful 
event to pass, — and so was punished with pain in his mind for 
telling it ; for Saul was so angry at Ahimelech’s showing him any 
kindness, that in his rage he slew eighty-five priests and all their 


424 


CHILD'S COMMENTATOR. 


families, as you will hereafter read. No doubt but this was one 
of those sins over which David mourned with great grief, for a 
good man always finds “ that it is an evil and a bitter thing to sin 
against God.” Do not, dear young reader, O do not give way to 
lying, for if your sin is ever pardoned, you must deeply repent of 
it ; and, if you repent of it, God will pardon you, not because you 
repent, but because your grief shows that your mind is prepared 
to receive pardon, which he freely bestows through Jesus Christ 
— but that repentance will yet be very painful indeed. 

David next fled into the country of the Philistines, where he 
hoped no one would find him out, for he might reckon that it 
would hardly be supposed by Saul that he would go to the peo- 
ple whose champion he had slain, nor would they be likely to 
suspect that he had been so daring as to venture among them. 
Yet it is thought by some that Achish the king of Gath, where 
Goliath lived, knew who David was, and received him, either ad- 
miring his bravery as a soldier, or being pleased that he had killed 
Goliath, who, as he was a very terrible person, might have even 
kept his own king in fear of him. 

However, at all events, the servants of Achish spied David out, 
and asked whether he was not the man whose victory over their 
champion had lately made a subject for the songs of their ene- 
mies. And David hearing them talk in this way, began to be 
frightened, and so he pretended to be mad, and Achish told them 
to drive him away, but it does not appear that they hurt him, 
for if they had any feelings of a humane kind about them, they 
must have felt pity for a madman. It was, however, a mean 
kind of act for David to pretend to be mad, for he was under the 
especial care of Providence, and not a hair of his head would 
have been hurt ; but David seems at this time to have wanted 
that trust in God, which he had when he went forth to meet Go- 
liath, and when perhaps every one in Israel trembled for him but 
himself. 



CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


425 


THE TWENTY-SECOND CHAPTER OF I. SAMUEL. 

David in the cave of Adullam , and the Priests slain by order of 

Saul. 


u And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou and fall upon the priests. 
And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, 
and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear 
a linen ephod. 

“ And Nob, the city of the priests, smote he with the edge of the 
sword, both men and women, children and sucklings, and oxen, 
and asses, and sheep, with the edge of the sword.” — Vers. 18, 19. 


On leaving Gath, David fled to the cave of Adullam, which was 
\ probably near to the city of the same name in the tribe of Judah, 

( mentioned in the fifteenth chapter of Joshua. This being a strong 

^ place, and in his own tribe, he might hope to be in greater safety. 

=j» Here he was joined by a number of persons who, for various 

/ reasons, did not like king Saul, and he became captain over 

them : and there were with him about four hundred men. 

Among the rest “ his father’s house,” that is, his family, “ went 
down thither to him and as Saul, in his rage against David, 
might have killed them as he did the priests, David was afraid of 
trusting them within his reach ; and yet he did not know what to 
do with his aged father and mother, who were too old to endure 
all the fatigue which he was likely to suffer in different marches, 
as well as all the changes of war. So he went to the king of 
Moab and asked him to give them shelter ; and he said unto the 
king of Moab, Let my father and my mother, I pray thee, come 
forth and be with you, till I know what God will do for me.” 

The king of Moab was one of Saul’s enemies, and so it was 
very likely that he would oblige David, who was now as much 
disliked by Saul as himself. 

The king of Moab readily consented, and knowing Saul’s hatred 
to David, he probably thought that he might receive some help 
against him from David, someday, in return. And David brought 





426 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


his parents “ before the king of Moab ; and they dwelt with him 
all the while that David was in the hold” or fortress of Adullam. 

This conduct of David towards his father and mother was very 
amiable. How high soever your rank in life may happen to be 
above that of your parents, never forget your duty towards 
them ; and when their old age requires your care, show them all 
the kindness in your power. 

Dor some time probably Saul had heard nothing of David, but 
now a report reached him that he was in arms, and at the head 
of a number of men, at which he was greatly alarmed. Being of 
a jealous disposition, he fancied that his son Jonathan, and the 
servants that were about him, had conspired with David to de- 
throne him, or take away his kingdom ; and he accused them all 
with being traitors, since no one would tell him anything about 
the business. But, as no such conspiracy had existed, how then 
could they tell him ? 

However, Doeg the Edomite, who was with him, thought he 
should get into favour by telling him about Ahimelech, the priest, 
having given David victuals and the sword of Goliath, — for Doeg 
happened to be in the tabernacle when Ahimelech and David 
were there. In chapter twenty-one, and the seventh verse, we 
read, “Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that 
day, detained before the Lord that is, he was stopping in the 
tabernacle, probably to offer some sacrifice to the Lord ; “ and 
his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chiefest of the herdsmen 
that belonged to Saul an officer who most likely overlooked all 
the keepers of the herds and flocks, to see that they did their 
duty and took proper care of them. 

As soon as Saul heard w r hat Ahimelech had done, he sent for all 
the priests that were in Nob, and on their appearance before him, 
he spoke very rudely to Ahimelech, and charged him with being 
a conspirator, and with asking counsel from God against him. 
Ahimelech was no doubt startled and surprised, and defended 
himself by saying, that he thought David was on a message for 
the king, as he had told him, — that being the king’s son-in-law 
and a faithful servant to him, he did not suppose that he was do- 
ing anything wrong in helping him when he wanted refreshment; 



child’s commentator. 


427 


and, as for inquiring of God for him, it was not the first time, for 
David as a pious man was used to ask counsel of God. This was 
then done by the priests, but all good men now ask counsel of 
God themselves in prayer. Ahimelech then said that he was not 
to blame, and that what he had done, if wrong, was quite inno- 
cently done. 

Saul would hear no defence. A man in a rage is like a wild 
beast ; “ and the king said, Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, 
thou and all thy father’s house.” What a barbarous decree ! — 
and he found one as wicked as himself ready to execute it. He 


turned first to his footmen, who used to run before him when he 


went from place to place, and said, “ Turn and slay the priests 
of the Lord.” What a daring command to slay God’s priests ! 
The footmen were, however, more convinced of their innocency 
than their rash master, and had more reverence for the servants 
of God, therefore, in spite of his rage, they would not, at his 
command, bathe their hands in innocent blood. 

Then the king said to Doeg, “ Turn thou and fall upon the 
priests.” The false accuser readily obeyed the brutish order, and 
most likely assisted by some of his servants, Doeg slew eighty- 
five of the priests who wore the linen ephod, or priest’s robe. After 
this he went to Nob, where he killed with the sword all the men, 
women, and children, and even the cattle, and so destroyed the 
whole population of the place, consisting of the priests and their 
families. This was very barbarous and very wicked, and Saul and 
Doeg would have to answer for the crime. Yet what God had 
foretold against the house of Eli, in which were perhaps many 
other wicked priests like his sons, who “made themselves vile,” 
was now all brought to pass. These priests were of that family, 
and God had said by Samuel, “ I will do a thing in Israel, at 
which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle. In 
that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken 
concerning his house ; when I begin I will also make an end.” 
Dear young reader, God is just in all his ways, and if we repent 
not of our sins against him, he will at last make us know that 
“ the end of these things is death.” Saul and Doeg both did 
wickedly in killing the priests, and yet they were God’s execu- 



CHILD'S COMMENTATOR. 


428 

tioners, to fulfil his decree against a family that had been guilty 
of defiling his altar. 

One priest only had escaped, this was Abiathar, and he fled to 
David for protection, who by this event was favoured with the aid 
of a priest through whom he might always ask counsel of God in 
all his dangers. 


THE TWENTY THIRD CHAPTER OF I. SAMUEL. 

David having defeated the Philistines at Keilah , is still pursued 
by Saul . 

“ And Saul sought him every day, but God delivered him not 
into his hands.” — Ver, 14. 


David was now in the land of Judah, according to the orders 
of the prophet Gad. He had not long returned before the Philis- 
tines attacked a city and fortified place called Keilah, which stood 
near their country ; and as it was threshing time, and this work 
was done out of the city for the sake of having more wind to 
blow away the chaff from the w r heat, the Philistines took away 
the corn which the people were threshing and winnowing. 

David was too much of a patriot — that is, he loved his country 
too much — patiently to see it robbed by the Philistines ; but he 
did not know whether he ought to oppose them, as he had no or- 
ders from Saul, who was his king, and as his own army was very 
small. So he asked counsel of the Lord, and the answer was, 
“ Go and smite the Philistines and save Keilah.” 

David’s soldiers w'ere afraid that they were not numerous 
enough for the enterprise ; however, David asked counsel again, 
and God still said, “ Go.” So David attacked the Philistines, 
and beat them, and for his reward he got their cattle which they 
had brought to feed their armies, w hich were most likely of great 
service to him. 

Men do not ask God if they shall go to war now ; they go to 
war according to their own fancy, and when they do this they do 



wickedly; however, the time will come when the gospel which 
makes men peaceable, shall everywhere prevail, and then, (O 
what happy days !) men shall learn war no more. 

David having saved Keilah, we should have supposed Saul 
would have sent to him a message of peace, and have been satis- 
fied that he who. fought his enemies was no conspirator, for then 
he would have joined them against Saul. Instead, however, of 
rewarding David with thanks and kindness, he was glad to find 
out where he was, that he might go and try to kill him. “And 
Saul said, God hath delivered him into mine hand ; for he is shut 
in by entering into a town that hath gates and bars. And Saul 
called all the people together to war, to go down to Keilah, to 
besiege David and his men.” 

David again inquired of the Lord, and he found that if he re- 
mained in Keilah, the people would forget how much they owed 
to him for saving them, and would, for fear of Saul, deliver him 
into his hand. 

So David left Keilah. By this time his men had increased to 
six hundred, for, perhaps some of the people of that place had 
united with them. 

David next went into the wilderness or desert of Ziph, and rer 
mained hid there among the rocks in a mountain, or sometimes 
in a wood. Here Jonathan found him out and visited him, “and 
strengthened his hand in God,” encouraging him to put his trust 
in him, and he told him that he was sure God would protect him, 
and make him at last king over Israel. Then David and Jona- 
than made a covenant to be faithful to each other, and Jonathan 
returned home. 

Then the people of Ziph went and told Saul where David was, 
and Saul was quite pleased, and hoped he should soon take him. 
But by the time he had arrived, David having found out that he 
was approaching him, escaped into the wilderness of Maon ; and 
there again Saul pursued him and nearly overtook him ; indeed, 
he was so close upon his heels, that his army was on one side of 
a mountain, and David’s on the other ; and he was contriving 
how he could surround the mountain, and so make him prisoner. 

At that very moment news reached Saul, that the Philistines 




430 child’s commentator. 


had “ invaded the land,” and he was pressed to make all haste 
with his army and meet them ; so he was obliged to give up pur- 
suing David “ and went against the Philistines and the place 
was in memory of that circumstance called Selahammahlekoth, 
which means “ the rock of divisions,” because the rocky mountain 
divided David’s army from Saul’s army, and here God by his 
providence caused Saul to separate himself from David when he 
was bent on pursuing him. 

Then “ David went up from thence and dwelt in strong holds 
at Engedi,” another place which lay in the wilderness of J udah. 


THE TWENTY-FOURTH CHAPTER OF I. SAMUEL. 

Saul's slcirt cut off by David. 

“ Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe privily.” 

Ver. 4. 


When Saul had returned from following the Philistines, he 
again found where David was. So he “ took three thousand chosen 
men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon 
the rocks of the wild goats.” These rocks w r ere in the wilderness 
of Engedi, and they were called “the rocks of wild goats,” be- 
cause these creatures delighted to be there. They are described 
by travellers as being very high indeed, and very rough, so that 
they are quite awful to look at, and being very difficult to ascend, 
David and his men thought that they might safely hide in them. 
However, Saul was resolved to pursue them even there. 

“ And he came to the sheep-cotes by the way, where was a 
cave ; and Saul went in to cover his feet : and David and his 
men remained in the sides of the cave.” 

The sheep-cotes were places for the sheep to be led into at noon, 
to shelter them from the heat ; the cave was a very large one, 
for there are caves in that part which though very dark, are yet 
roomy enough to hold many thousand men. And here Saul laid 
down to rest, covering his feet, on which he probably had nothing 



child’s commentator. 431 


but sandals, so that no might keep them warm with his long robes 
and hide his naked limbs. But, who should be in this cave, but 
David and his men, w ho, while they were concealed in the farthest 
part, could see Saul come in at the mouth, it being light there, 
while they at the farthest end were all in the dark. 



David’s men were rejoiced, and advised their master at once to 
kill Saul ; but David would not be his murderer, and so he only 
went quietly up to where he was stretched upon the ground, — 
being most likely asleep, — and he cut off the skirt of his robe ; 
but he was even afterwards vexed with himself for doing this, as 
he thought it was an insult to him whom God had placed over 
him in authority, and who was therefore, in his mind, entitled to 
all possible respect. Saul might, however, see by this act of 
David, — when he should learn what he had done, — that he was 
not a traitor to him, or he might easily have taken his life. 

Saul having refreshed himself, left the cave and went on, with- 
out having any notion that David and his men were there. 




432 child's commentator. 


him with a loud voice, “ My lord the king. And when Saul 
looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth and 
bowed himself,” to show that he still wished to treat him with 
the respect of a sovereign. And then David asked Saul why he 
listened to reports against him, that he meant to do him hurt. 
And he showed him his skirt which he had cut off without killing 
him, though he could then as easily have cut off his head ; and 
yet Saul hunted after his life as he would hunt a wild beast. And 
he said, “ The Lord avenge me of thee !” — meaning, that if he 
would still persecute him, he would still avoid killing him if in 
his power, and leave his case with God. And he asked Saul, 
“ After whom is the king of Israel come outl after whom dost 
thou pursue'? — after a dead dog — after a flea'?” For he, David, 
with six hundred men, could do him no more harm than a dead 
dog, and was as insignificant, in comparison with himself, as a 
poor despised insect. 

Though Saul might now have returned and fallen upon David, 
his heart w'as restrained by the power of God, or perhaps his men 
w r ere at some distance, and David could have escaped before he 
could collect them. David’s appearance, and kind words, and 
the mercy he had shown him also, astonished him and softened 
his heart, and he called David his son, as he was, — David having 
first addressed him as father, — as he had married his daughter, — 
and he even was so much affected that he wept aloud. And he 
owned that David was more righteous than he, and had reward- 
ed him good, “ whereas,” said he, “ I have rewarded thee evil ;” 
for though he had saved Israel by slaying Goliath, and fought 
against the Philistines, and charmed away his evil spirit, yet still 
he had tried to kill one who had done so much for him. And 
Saul also confessed that he now believed David would be king, 
and his conscience told him that he was the neighbour better than 
he, to whom Saul had said the kingdom should be given when it 
was taken from him. 

In eastern kingdoms it is usual, when a new family comes to 
the throne, to have all the children of the old family killed, lest 
any of them should, in time, try to recover the throne of their 
father ; and Saul, believing that David would yet be king, and 



S 


S7 



child’s commentator. 433 


fearing that he would kill his sons, asked him to swear that he 
would show them mercy. So he solemnly declared that he 
would, which is what is meant by swearing on this occasion, — 
making a solemn promise. 

After this conversation, Saul went home to his palace in 
Gibeah, and David knowing that he could not trust Saul, went 
with his men to the hold or place of safety among the rocks. 


THE TWENTY-FIFTH CHAPTER OF I. SAMUEL. 

Samuel's death — NabaVs ill-behaviour to David . 

“ Now the name of the man was Nabal ; and the name of his wife 
Abigail : and she was a woman of good understanding, and of 
/ a beautiful countenance : but the man was churlish and evil in 
his doings ; and he was of the house of Caleb.” — Ver. 3. 

1 At this time Samuel died, and as he had been a good judge 
when he ruled over Israel, and was a pious prophet, his death 
was lamented by all the Israelites, and he was buried “ in his 
house at Ramah,” — that is, according to the common customs of 
those times, within the walls where his house stood, and most 
likely in a tomb in his garden. 

But this chapter more particularly tells us about a rich man 
who lived in Maon, a city of the tribe of J udah, and who had great 
possessions in Carmel, another city of Judah, which stood upon a 
mountain of the same name. The wealth of men in those times 
generally consisted in herds and flocks, and we learn that he had 
three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats. He was also of the 
house or family of Caleb, and so of the tribe of Judah, which 
being the same tribe as that to which David belonged, made what 
I am going to tell you so much the more unnatural in him. 

This Nabal happened to be at Carmel shearing his sheep, and 
David, being in great want of provision for himself and his men, 
sent a very civil message to him, to ask him to let him have some 





434 child’s commentator. 

for his soldiers had been very kind to Nabal’s shepherds ; and 
especially as sheep-shearing was a feastingtime, he might spare 
him a little very well ; and as there were only ten young men 
sent from David’s army, they could not carry a great deal. 

Now “ Nabal,” being a very surly sort of a man, “ answered 
David’s servants, and said, Who is David ? — and who is the son 
of Jesse ? There be many servants now-a-days that break away 
every man from his master meaning that he knew nothing 
about this David. — though he did know him, for he called him 
the son of Jesse; — and as for his servants, they were a set of 
runaway fellows, and he should give them nothing. 

So David’s servants, being affronted, said nothing to him, but 
turned their backs and went and told David how he had behaved. 

David then ordered his men to put on their swords, and leav- 
ing two hundred to watch his baggage, he marched with four hun- 
dred men to punish Nabal. 

In the mean time, one of Nabal’s young men told Abigail, 
Nabal’s wife, how rudely his master had behaved to David’s 
messengers, and that they ought to have been better treated, for, 
said he, “ the men were very good unto us, and we were not 
hurt, neither missed we any thing, as long as we were conversant 
with them, when we were in the fields. They were a wall unto 
us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keep- 
ing the sheep.” 

Now this made Nabal’s behaviour still worse. His shepherds 
had been keeping their flocks very near David’s troops. In those 
parts were many wild Arabs, as there are to this day, and they 
would have thought it their right to take any of Nabal’s flocks to 
feed themselves, because they think themselves kings of that wild 
country ; but David’s troops always kept them away, and if any 
wild beast had come near, still they were ready to defend them, 
while they received nothing for their services. So that what 
David asked in his need, and might have taken by force, was a 
kind of debt which Nabal owed him for guarding his property, — 
at least it was a debt of gratitude, which he ought to have paid. 
W e ought to be kind to ail ; but to return evil for good to those 
who are kind to us, is base indeed. 



Nabal’s servant saw that David must be provoked, and so he 
advised his mistress to do something to reconcile him. 

“ Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and 
two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five mea- 
sures of parched corn, and an hundred clusters of raisins, and 
two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses. And she said 
unto her servants, Go on before me ; behold, 1 come after you. 
But she told not her husband Nabal.” It would have been of no 
use to talk to Nabal, — for he was very obstinate, — and so while 
she was trying to persuade him to send these things to David, 
David would have arrived and mischief must have happened. 
For David lost his temper, and in his passion, — which was very 
blameable,— he vowed that he would that night destroy Nabal, 
and all his household. 

Before Abigail could reach David he was on his march to attack 
' Nabal, but she met him on a hill, and lighted from the beautiful 
eastern ass on which she rode, and, according to the manner of 
[. the country, in token of high respect for David, “she bowed her- 
f self to the ground, and fell at his feet and then she begged 
^ David to blame her, and not her husband, that nothing was given 
to his messengers, — for Nabal was a silly man, as his name sig- 
nified, and what could he expect from a fool ? — this she said by 
way of excuse, and to save Nabal, which was a good reason for 
her using a name she ought not in any other case to have applied 
to her husband. Then she told David how glad he ought to be 
that he had not in his anger shed blood, and wished that all his 
enemies were but as insignificant as Nabal ; and begged him 
earnestly to accept of her present for the use of his young men, 
as being scarcely worth his acceptance for his own use. Moreover, 
she told him that God would, without doubt, deliver him from 
his troubles, and bind his soul up “ in the bundle of life,” or keep 
it in safety as we keep things tied up in a bundle ; and that God 
would sling out the souls of his enemies, “ as out of the middle 
of a sling meaning by this, that he would remove them swiftly 
and suddenly, and with force, out of the world, as a stone is 
slung out of the middle of a sling ; for so suddenly did Saul 
afterwards perish in the field of battle. 


I 



436 


child’s commentator. 


See how “ a soft answer turneth away wrath.” David now 
blessed God that he had inclined Abigail’s heart to go and meet 
him ; and he blessed her and her kind advice, which had pre- 
vented him from shedding blood ; and he took her present, “ and 
said unto her, Go up in peace to thine house : see, I have heark- 
ened to thy voice, and have accepted thy person that is, “ I am 
pleased with all your own behaviour.” 

When Abigail returned home, Nabal was feasting at the sheep- 
shearing feast, and he had supplied it so well, that it was fit for a 
king. It appears that he had also got drunk, and having by this 
made himself worse than a beast, she told him nothing of what 
had happened between her and David, till he should become so- 
ber and fit to hear it. 

But in the morning she informed him of the danger he had es- 
caped from David and his four hundred men, and he was so 
struck with his narrow escape that he fainted away ; perhaps, too, 
he feared lest David should yet fall upon him. In about ten 
days after — he died. 

When David heard of Nabal’s death, he blessed the Lord. 
This was not because he maliciously rejoiced in his death, but 
because God had visited him with his own hand, instead of his 
having slain him himself, while he was in a dangerous rage. 

Abigail’s beauty, grace, wisdom, and piety, had won the heart 
of David ; and so he sent to her at one of her husband’s houses 
which was at Carmel, and proposed to marry her ; she expressed 
herself sensible of the high honour of becoming his wife, of which 
she in her humility did not think herself worthy, but rather fit to 
wash the feet of David’s servants ; and then, according to the 
custom of the times, she went to David’s residence. So David, 
most probably, now became possessed of all the property of Na- 
bal, who had denied him the most humble request. 

David had also another wife, Ahinoam of Jezreel ; but Michal, 
Saul’s daughter, who was also David’s wife, had been married 
by her father to another man, that David might not have any 
pretension from that to inheriting his crown. 

The custom of having more than one wife is not allowed to 
Christians j Jesus Christ condemned it and quite did it away ; for 



child’s commentator. 437 


you remember that Isaac and Ishmael, the sons of Sarah and 
Hagar, quarrelled ; and the children of several mothers living in 
one family must be very likely to do the same, and to make a 
house a frequent place of confusion. Jesus Christ has done away 
with many of the laws and customs of the Jews, only to make us 
more haj^py here and hereafter. 


THE TWENTY-SIXTH CHAPTER OF I. SAMUEL. 

Saul's spear and cruse taken from him while asleep , by David. 

“ So David took the spear and the cruse of water from Saul’s 
bolster ; and they gat them away, and no man saw it, nor 
knew it, neither awaked ; for they were all asleep, because a 
deep sleep from the Lord was fallen upon them.” — Ver. 12. 


Though Saul had appeared reconciled to David, after having 
had so strong a proof as he gave him that he was no traitor, yet 
still his revengeful feelings towards him revived ; and having 
been once more informed by the Ziphites, that David had return- 
ed to the hill of Hachilah, he again went after him with three 
thousand men. 

David, however, happened not to be in the hill, but in the wil- 
derness, but there Saul pursued him ; and David having found 
out, by spies, where Saul’s camp was, he resolved to go to it by 
night and inspect it. 

He then discovered where Saul’s ground and royal tent was, 
and, as is the custom of the Arabs to this time, the people pitch- 
ed in a circle about him. 

Then David asked if any one of those that were with him 
would go into the camp ; for it would not have been safe for more 
to have entered it, lest their footsteps should have awakened the 
people. “ And Abishai said, I will go down with thee.” 

“ So David and Abishai came to the people by night : and, be- 
hold, Saul lay sleeping within the trench,” — or within his tent, 01 



child’s commentator. 


438 

camp — “ and his spear stuck in the ground at his bolster ; but 
Abner and the people lay round about him.” 

This was a very bold step, for two men to go into an enemy’s 
camp of three thousand men, even though it were night, for some 
might have been awake, or at least some sentinels or guards 
might have been on the watch ; but they all seem to have pre- 
sumed on being secure, and being all fatigued, — perhaps with 
marching in the course of the day, — they all slept soundly ; nor 
was this a common sleep, for “ a deep sleep from the Lord had 
fallen upon them.” David’s courage and their sleep were both 
ordered of the Lord to prove his innocence. 

Abishai would now have persuaded David to let him kill 
Saul, as he knew David had refused to do it himself ; he told him 
that God had delivered his enemy into his hand, and if he would 
only give him leave, he would thrust him through with his own 
spear, and do it so completely, that a second thrust would not be 
wanted to despatch him. 

But if David had given Abishai leave, it would have been the 
same thing as if he had done the deed himself ; for he who urges 
another to do a wrong thing, is as bad as the one that does it. 

David therefore said, “ Destroy him not : for who can stretch 
forth his hand against the Lord’s anointed, and be guiltless V* 
David said furthermore, “ As the Lord liveth, the Lord shall 
smite him ; or his day shall come to die ; or he shall descend into 
battle and perish ;” and so he did at last. However, to prove 
that Saul had again been in his power, he told Abishai to take 
away his spear and a cruse of water that was near him. 

David then left the camp with the spear and the cruse, and 
going to the top of a hill opposite to that where Saul was — so 
that he could not be pursued without first descending a hill, then 
crossing a valley, and then mounting another hill — he aroused 
Abner the captain of Saul’s host, and he told him what a careless 
sort of a soldier he was to keep no better guard over his master, 
and showed him the spear and the cruse, to prove that he had 
been in the camp and might easily have killed Saul. 

Saul was awakened by what passed, and hearing David’s voice, 
called to him and spoke kindly to him. 




child’s commentator. 439 

David again complained to Saul of his cruelly pursuing him ; 
and Saul said, “ 1 have sinned : return, my son David ; for 1 will no 
more do thee harm, because my soul was precious in thine eyes this 
day : behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly.” 

David then showed the king’s spear, — which is thought also to 
have been his sceptre, — and lest it should be supposed he wanted 
to keep this in order to usurp his royal power, he begged Saul to 
send a person for it and he should have it, — not being willing to 
trust himself, by taking it, to Saul, whose evil disposition was 
such that he could neither believe what he promised, nor trust 
himself within his reach. 

David then uttered a prayer, that God would reward his inte- 
grity and deliver him out of his trouble ; and Saul could not 
avoid blessing him, and parted with these words, “ Thou shalt 
both do great things and also shalt prevail.” 


THE TWENTY-SEVENTH CHAPTER OF I. SAMUEL. 

David's flight to Gath , and residence at Ziklag. 

“ Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day : wherefore Ziklag per 
taineth unto the kings of Judah unto this day.” — Ver. 6. 


As Saul seemed resolved to give David no rest, and there was 
no reliance to be placed upon his word, David thought that he 
had better once more seek safety in the land of the Philistines. 
So he went with all his men to Gath, and Achish was, no doubt, 
glad to get such a force of bold men from the side of King Saul. 

When Saul found that David had left the kingdom, “ he sought 
no more again for him,” for it was of no use. 

David, in all probability, now thought that the lords of the 
Philistines would be jealous of him if he continued in their royal 
city, so he asked Achish to appoint him a dwelling somewhere 
else. Achish did so very readily, and gave him the city of Zik- 
lag, said to have been about twelve miles from Gath. This city 




440 child’s commentator. 


was in the lot of Judah, when the lands were divided among the 
people (see Joshua, xv. 31) ; but it had by some means fallen into 
the hands of the Philistines, and now it was restored to one of 
Judah’s tribe, and became David’s own. 

You remember that God had ordered the Amalekites to be 
cut off on account of their wickedness, and David now invaded 
their country that he might fulfil God’s decree, and perform — as 
God’s anointed — that work of justice which Saul neglected to do, 
and for which neglect he lost his kingdom. 

As we have seen that David inquired of God in all cases of im- 
portance, most likely he did so before he went against these 
wicked people, and so he succeeded and was rewarded with “ the 
sheep and the oxen, and the asses, and the camels, and the appa- 
rel” of the Amalekites, all of which he most likely needed. 

Achish heard of David’s spoils, and was desirous of knowing 
where he obtained them ; but he was afraid of letting the king 
know, and gave him a doubtful answer in reply ; so that Achish 
thought he had been fighting against Israel, and now reckoned 
upon him as an ally for all his life. 

This was not to the honour of David. He ought to have been 
open and candid. Good men should never be guilty of mean 
things. We ought to admire and imitate David’s excellencies, 
but to avoid his faults. 


THE TWENTY-EIGHTH CHAPTER OF I. SAMUEL. 

The Witch of Endor. 


“ Then Saul said unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a 
familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and inquire of her. And 
his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a 
familiar spirit at Endor.” — Ver. 7. 


In this chapter we have an account of a grand preparation for 
war made by the Philistines against Israel. David was now in a 
difficult situation, for he could not like to join these heathen in 



.J5NE0R: SAOI/S SERVANTS SEEKING TUB WITCH. 








DAVID MOURNING FOR SAUL AND JONATHAN 









child’s commentator. 


443 


fighting against his countrymen, and yet Achish had a right to 
look to him for aid, as he had given him protection. David, on 
being applied to by Achish to go out to battle, gave him another 
evasive reply, or one by which he might suppose that he would 
help him, and yet he avoided giving any promise : “ And David 
said to Achish, Surely thou shalt know what thy servant can do.” 
Achish however trusted in David, and believed that he would 
help him. 

And now the Philistines pitched in Shunem, a city on the bor- 
ders of Judah, and Saul gatherd his army together in a range of 
mountains called Gilboa. “ And when Saul saw the host of the 
Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled.” 

In his perplexity he would fain have known the will of God as 
to what he should do, but he had forsaken God, and so God had 
forsaken him ; and he received no answer to his anxious inquiries, 
either by dreams, in which God used then sometimes to speak ; 
or by Urim, which you remember was something in the priest’s 
breast-plate which was used to direct in times of difficulty, and 
which was now in the hands of Abiathar, who was with David ; 
or by prophets, for Samuel was dead, and none of his school at 
Naioth in Ramah was divinely directed to guide him. 

So Saul determined that he would go to a witch, or woman 
fortune-teller, from whom he was foolish enough to believe that 
he should learn all that he wanted. This woman was called one 
that had “ a familiar spirit,” that is, some kind of spirit living in 
the other world, with whom she was allowed to make free, and 
who could tell her all she wanted to know about things that were 
to happen. 

Now it was very silly of Saul to think that a poor old woman 
could know the mind of God about what was coming to pass, but 
he was not the only person who was so foolish, or the old witch 
could not have lived by her art ; and I am grieved to tell you, 
that even now, there are people among us who ought to know 
better, and who go to gipsies and mediums to have their fortunes 
told, as they call it, and to find out where things are gone to, 
which have been lost or stolen. This is very foolish, 1 say j birt 
that is not all, it is also very wicked, for it is asking human crca 
17 




tures to do what can only be done by God himself, who alone 
knows all things, and such things as they would know. 

Saul knew that it was wicked to go to this woman, for he had 
even cut off some people for professing her art, according to God’s 
command in the last verse of the twentieth chapter of Leviticus — 
“ A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a 
wizard (or fortune-teller), shall surely be put to death : they shall 
stone them with stones : their blood shall be upon them.” 

Saul, however, found out by his servants, that one of these 
witches lived at a place called Endor, a city not far from Gilboa. 
So he disguised himself and put on other clothes than he usually 
wore, — perhaps made himself look like a countryman or common 
soldier, — and, taking two men with him, he went by night to the 


house of the witch. 

The woman knew that Saul had been very severe against such 
people as herself, and was afraid that this was only a scheme to 
ensnare her and so inform against her, and she told Saul what she 
thought. This ought to have made him ashamed of himself, when 
he remembered that he had put others to death for doing what he 
was tempting this woman to do, and that he was breaking his 
own and the divine law. He might also have supposed that if 
the woman could not tell that he was Saul, — though in disguise, 
— she was not very likely to tell what would happen to him, or 
to know whether he w r ould beat the Philistines or not. But his 
heart was hardened, and his mind was as dark as the night. 

Saul then made a solemn oath, in the name of the Lord, that 
she should not be in any danger from what she might say and do. 

On this promise the woman proceeded, and she asked Saul 
whose spirit she should bring from the other world. And Saul 
said, Samuel’s. She then pretended to bring up Samuel, and by 
the king’s asking for his old friend the prophet, and it might be 
by some words that dropped from his attendants, or some marks 
of peculiar respect, or even some previous knowledge of the king’s 
person, her keen eye cunningly found out who he was, and she 
cried out, “ Why hast thou deceived me, for thou art Saul V’ Then 
she told the king what she saw, — that she saw gods ascending out 
of the earth, and that Samuel’s appearance was like that of an 


m 





M 


child's commentator. 445 

old man covered with a mantle, a thing which all Israel must 
have known, for Samuel was a very public man, both as a pro 
phet and a ruler. 

Then by what the woman said, Saul perceived that it was 
Samuel ; not that he saw him, but he took her word, and he 
bowed in token of respect to the supposed Samuel.* 

Then the woman spoke in a feigned voice, — or some one con- 
cealed close by spoke for her, — and said to Saul, as if Samuel 
was speaking, “ Why hast thou disquieted me to bring me up 
Now the blessed Samuel was with God, and could not be disqui- 
eted ; but she pretended that he spoke, and Saul, in his fright and 
weakness of mind, thought that he did, and he asked him what 
he should do about the Philistines. 

You remember that Balaam was a wicked man, and a sooth- 
sayer, or fortune-teller, like this woman, and that nevertheless 
God forced him to prophesy some good things about Israel, when 
he wanted to curse, that he might get a reward offered to him by 
Balak, King of Moab, for so doing. So, in this case, it is most 
likely that the witch, who was afraid of Saul, would rather have 
encouraged him and sent him away pleased, but she was obliged 
to submit to a divine impulse ; and so still carrying on the pre- 
tence that it was Samuel who spoke, and in this way throwing off 
the blame from herself, she really did foretell what was to happen 
to Saul on the morrow, which she could not have done if God had 
not informed her mind, as a warning to the sinful king. She told 
him, that because he had not executed God’s sentence against 
Amalek, on the morrow he should be conquered by the Philis- 

* The author is perhaps here called to justify to the instructors of the young reader the 
view he has taken of this chapter. He is aware that he has differed from all commenta- 
tors that he has seen, their opinions being either that Samuel really appeared, or that 
Satan appeared in his shape ; but he can neither believe that the spirit of Samuel could be 
“disquieted” after his departure, and that by a witch, — nor that Satan would be allowed 
to assume the appearance of a prophet of the Most High. Besides, a careful reading of the 
whole, divested of former impressions, will clearly show that Saul did not see Samuel, and 
in the agitation of the moment he was unable to ascertain if it really were his voice or not 
that spoke to him : it was enough for his credulity that it was pretended to be so. On this 
point he has enlarged in an extra note in his Evangelical Synopsis : and being fully per- 
suaded in his own mind, that there have been great mistakes upon it, he would persuade 
the young reader also that all that is recorded of Samuel’s rising, was nothing but a 
pretence on the part of the witch. He likewise begs an attentive perusal of his remarks 
here Introduced for the help of the young. 


$ 



446 child’s commentator. 


tines, his sons should be slain, and Israel fall into the hands of 
their enemies. 

Saul was so frightened that he dropped down, for he was very 
weary and faint, not having eaten bread all the day, nor all the 
night. 

Then the woman told him she was not to blame, and hoped he 
would not punish her, and she urged him to eat something ; but he 
refused, till his servants at last joined the woman in compelling 
him ; and perhaps in so doing she had a more certain pledge of her 
safety, after he had condescended to partake of her hospitality. 

Therefore, after having eaten of a fatted calf which she dress- 
ed, and some unleavened bread that she made for him, Saul and 
his servants went away. 


THE TWENTY-NINTH CHAPTER OF I. SAMUEL. 

David's march along with the Philistines. 

“ And the lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds and by 
thousands *. but David and his men passed on in the rereward 
with Achish.” — Yer. 2. 

The Philistines having drawn up their armies near the city of 
Aphek, the Israelites pitched in the valley of Jezreel. And the 
Philistines marched under their captains, some commanding hun- 
dreds, and others thousands. David also marched with the Phi- 
listines, and was the commander of the body-guard of Achish, 
who greatly confided in him. He must now have been in a great 
strait, for he could not fight against Israel without becoming an 
ally with wicked idolaters, and a foe to his own country ; nor 
could he desert to the Israelites, for he would then have thrown 
himself into the hands of the revengeful Saul, and have proved a 
traitor to the hospitable Achish j nor could he quit his post and 
go back, without at least exposing himself to the charge of 
cowardice. What was he then to do 1 I am sure he must have 



child’s commentator. 


44? 


been sorely perplexed if the minds of the Philistine lords had not 
been moved to work his deliverance. They were jealous of David, 
and they could not forget his cutting off the head of Goliath of 
Gath, so that they were very wroth with Achish for trusting him. 
And they said, “ Make this fellow return, that he may go again 
to his place which thou hast appointed him, and let him not go 
down with us to battle, lest in the battle he be an adversary to 
us : for wherewith should he reconcile himself to his master? — 
should it not be with the heads of these men ? Is not this David, 
of whom they sang one to another in dances, saying, Saul slew 
his thousands, and David his ten thousands ?” 

Achish was afraid of offending his lords, so he spoke very 
kindly to David, and told him to go back, and he gave him a very 
high character, which we should remember, because it is such an 
one as we should try to obtain : “ Surely, as the Lord liveth, 
thou hast been upright, and thy going out and thy coming in with 
me in the host is good in my sight ; for I have not found evil in 
thee, since the day of thy coming unto me, unto this day : never- 
theless, the lords favour thee not.” 

David was no doubt glad enough in his heart at what Achish 
said, but he pretended to leave him with reluctance. It is not at 
all consistent with a good man to pretend to anything ; he should 
always be sincere. 

However, David got out of his scrape; he ought not to have 
got into it at all. God would have protected him as he had be- 
fore done, had he continued, according to the order of the pro- 
phet Gad, in the land of Judah, but by going over to the Philis- 
tines, he had nearly got into greater difficulties. 

It was kind in God so to order it, that he was not allowed in 
any way to disgrace himself in this battle ; and he might learn in 
future, that it was dangerous to form any close alliance with the 
enemies of God. 




THE THIRTIETH CHAPTER OF I. SAMUEL. 

The Amalekites having plundered, and burnt Ziklag , are pursued 
and slain by David. 

‘ And it came to pass when David and his men were come to 
Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the 
south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with 
fire.” — Ver. 1. 


Besides delivering him out of his difficulty in fighting with or 
deserting Achish, David’s enemies had been the means of sending 
him back to Ziklag at a very important moment. For while he 
was absent, some of the Amalekites who yet remained in their 
I land, went to avenge themselves upon him by plundering and 

I burning the city which he had left unguarded, and they carried 

i J away all the women and children, and David’s two wives were 
' among them. 

David and his men were so grieved that they wept bitterly, 
until they could weep no more. And to add to his trouble, his 
soldiers began to murmur at him for having made the Amalekites 
such enemies, and for leaving the city unguarded, and so bring- 
ing them all to misery and ruin, when poor David was as great a 
sufferer, and in some respects a greater sufferer than the rest. 

David in his trouble knew where to go for help, and so he 
asked counsel of God by means of the priest’s ephod with the 
Urim. And God encouraged him to pursue the enemy. So all 
the six hundred men made all speed after them. But when they 
reached the brook Besor, two hundred were so faint and weary 
—having marched so far, first from the camp of the Philistines 
to Ziklag, and then from Ziklag to the brook — that they could 
go no further ; David however continued to pursue the enemy 
with four hundred men. 

As they passed along, not knowing exactly which way to go, 
David’s men found an Egyptian lying ill upon the road ; and they 
took him to David, “ and they gave him a piece of cake of figs, 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


child’s commentator. 


449 


and two clusters of raisins,” and the poor fellow revived a little, 
for he had had nothing to eat for three days and three nights. 

Then David questioned him, to know how he came there* — for 
he probably suspected he.knew something of the Amalekite army. 
And he told him that he was an Egyptian, a servant to an Ama- 
lekite, and that he had fallen sick upon the road, and his master 
had cruelly left him behind. And that they had been plunder- 
ing the Philistines, and part of Saul’s dominions, and David’s 
city of Ziklag ; having no doubt taken advantage of the absence 
of all the men of war from these places, who were met for the 
grand battle between Israel and the Philistines. 

David then thought he could perhaps tell which way the 
Amalekites were gone, and he asked him if he could show him 
the way. The poor fellow said that he would very readily do so, 
if he would promise not to kill him, and if he would not give 
him up again to his master, for he had had such a proof of his 
cruelty, that he could not bear to think of ever returning to him. 
When he was so sick and ill he had left him to perish alone, 
when he might easily have'placed him on a camel and taken care 
of him, and carried him away. 

However, God permitted him to leave this young man as a 
guide for David ; and he took him to the spot where the Amalek- 
ites Were encamped, having most likely been told where he 
would find his master if he should happen to revive. 

“ And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread 
abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking, and dancing, be- 
cause of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of 
the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah.” — And David fell 
suddenly upon them, when they were quite unprepared to fight, 
and perhaps many were wearied and intoxicated ; and out of a 
large army, only four hundred young men escaped, who rode off 
on camels, or swift dromedaries used in those parts, — while David 
recovered every thing that he had lost, and his wives, and all the 
families of his men, and they got all the flocks and herds of the 
Amalekites, which they drove before the other cattle that had 
been taken from Ziklag ; and they gave David the honour of 
bravely taking them, and said, “This is David’s spoil.” 


450 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


And David hastened back to the two hundred men left at the 
brook Besor : and they hastened to meet David and to give him 
joy on his victory, while he as kindly inquired after their health 
and welfare. 

But there were some men of Belial, — or surly and selfish men 
in David’s army, — who wished David to give the two hundred 
nothing but their wives and children who had been carried away, 
and thought that as they had not been in the battle, they had no 
right to any spoil. 

David gently reasoned with these men, and told them that God 
had given them the victory, and they should not be so covetous, 
for the others had done their part, — and if they had been too 
weary to march further, yet they had watched their baggage, and 
if he had been defeated, these must have equally been sufferers. 
And he determined that in future all his army should equally 
share in the spoils taken from the enemy. 

Besides this, he very generously sent some to the elders of 
Judah, who had been kind to him, and to those places in Judah 
which had been plundered, and various other places, “ and to all 
the places where David himself and his men were wont to haunt,” 
when he was in Judah ; and so he showed that he had a grateful 
remembrance of those who sheltered and relieved him in the 
times of his distress. 


THE THIRTY-FIRST CHAPTER OF I. SAMUEL. 

Saul defeated and slain by the Philistines. 

‘ Now the Philistines fought against Israel : and the men of Israel 
fled before the Philistines, and fell down slain in Mount Gil- 
boa.” — Ver. 1. 


The day of recompense is now come, in which Saul must ac- 
count for the blood of the Amalekites which he had sinfully 
spared, and that of the priests which he had more sinfully spilt ; 
and that of David, which he would have spilt, must come into 
the account. 

Israel seems to have fled at the first onset. Jonathan, Abinadab 





child’s COMMENTATOR. 451 

and Melchi-shua, three of Saul’s sons, were the first among the 
slain, for the Philistines pressed hard to slay Saul himself, whom 
they seem bravely to have defended while he escaped. 

But, alas, here is good Jonathan among the slain ! Duty to his 
father obliged him to engage in this conflict against the Philis- 
tines ; and, indeed, he loved his country, and could not bear to 
see it invaded by that wicked people. Well, God so ordered it, 
that Jonathan did not see the misery which the sins of his father 
had brought upon his family and upon all Israel ; and by his 
death, the way to the throne was made open for David ; but yet, 
when the righteous perisheth, and when Jonathan is seen falling 
under a conquering Philistine, it is a matter of grief. 

Still pursuing Saul, “ the archers hit him,” and finding himself 
wounded, he did not like to fall alive into the hands of the Phi- 
listines, and so he ordered his armour-bearer to thrust him 
through. But the armour-bearer was afraid ; so Saul took a 
sword and fell upon it, and thus became his own murderer. His 
armour-bearer seeing he had slain himself, then in despair “ fell 
likewise upon his sword, and died with him. So Saul died, and 
his three sons, and his armour-bearer, and all his men that same 
day together.” 

The Jews report that Saul’s armour-bearer was the wicked 
Doeg, who killed the priests ; and if so, it was indeed remarkable 
that Saul and he should perish so together, and perhaps both by x 
Doeg’s own sword which he had used on that shocking occasion. 

The day after the battle the Philistines went and stripped the 
bodies of the dead, and having found those of Saul and his three 
sons, they cut off his head, and they stripped him of his armour, 
and sent it to be set up as a trophy of their victory in the house 
of Ashtaroth, their goddess ; this was an idol which Israel had 
often shamefully worshipped, and now their king whom they had 
desired, was made a subject of contempt before it. And the Phi- 
listines sent all over their country to give public notice of their 
victory, and to give thanks to their gods. They also fastened 
Saul’s body, and the bodies of his sons, to the wall of Bethshan, 
a city that lay not far from Gilboa, and very near to the river 
Jordan. Hither the dead bodies were dragged, and here hung up 





452 



child’s commentator. 


in chains to be devoured by the beasts of prey ; so that, though 
Saul slew himself to avoid being abused by the Philistines, his sin- 
ful deed did not save him, for never was dead body more abused. 

Little more than the river Jordan lay between Bethshan and 
Jabesh-gilead, and Jordan was in that place passable by its fords. 
The valiant men of the city therefore made a bold attempt, and 
passing the river in the night, took down the dead bodies that 
they might decently bury them. They did this because they 
could not endure to see the crown of Israel so profaned by the 
wicked Philistines, and because, — as you must recollect, — Saul 
did them a great kindness when he first came to the throne, — as 
we have seen in the eleventh chapter — where he saved them from 
a disgraceful surrender to Nahash the king of the Ammonites, and 
from having their right eyes thrust out. 

Having got the bodies, the putrid flesh was burnt, and the bones 
were buried under a tree, and, in token of sorrow, they fasted seven 
days ; not that they ate and drank nothing all the time, but they 
fasted every day till evening, according to a custom among the J ews. 

Thus ends the reign of Saul, and we learn by it that those who 
live and do wickedly, must expect in the end to die miserably, 
and that a man’s greatness will not save him from being punish- 
ed for his sins. 



J 




THE SECOND BOOK OF SAMUEL, 

OTHERWISE CALLED 

THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS: 

OB THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN OF KINO DAYHX 


i 


Execution of the Amalekite who slew Saul. 

u And David said unto the young man that told him, Whence art 
thou ? And he answered, I am the son of a stranger, an 
Amalekite. 

u And David said unto him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch 
forth thine hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed ?” — Chap. i. 
L3, 14. 


In the thirtieth chapter of the book we have just finished, you 
will remember to have read of David’s returning to Ziklag, his 
own city, after the slaughter of the Amalekites, who had plunder, 
ed and set fire to it while he was absent. 

On the third day after the battle was fought with the Philis- 
tines, in which Saul and Jonathan were slain, a man arrived at 
Ziklag from the camp of Saul, “ with his clothes rent, and earth 
upon his head,” which were his marks of mourning. 

And he told David about the battle, and that he was passing 
by the spot on Mount Gilboa, where Saul, being wounded, was 
leaning upon his spear ; and that “ the chariots and horsemen,” 



454 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


if the Philistines followed hard after him ; that he asked him of 
what country he was, and he told him he was an Amalekite ; 
and he desired the man to stand on him and slay him, for though 
wounded he might fall alive into the hands of the cruel Philis- 
tines ; and so the man slew him, and took his crown or chaplet 
from his head, and his bracelet, an ornament which military men 
of that country used to wear on the wrist, and which was proba- 
bly made of gold ; and he brought them to David in proof that 
Saul was really dead. 

You are, perhaps, ready to suppose that David was quite pleased 
to learn that his persecuting enemy was dead, and that he himself 
should now become king in his stead. But David was better 
taught than to show a malicious spirit, and, instead of rejoicing, 
he rent his clothes as a proof of his grief at what had happened : 
and he and his men “fasted until even, for Saul and for Jona- 
than his son, and for the people of the land,” who had fallen in 
the unfortunate battle, “ and for the house of Israel,” who would 
now be a derision to their mortal enemies the Philistines. 

No doubt the man expected some great reward, and was not a 
little surprised to see David’s grief. But the affair did not end 
here. David had always been very tender of Saul’s life as the 
Lord’s anointed, and you know that when he might have been 
avenged on him, he never would hurt him. Now, this man said 
that he had killed him, and though he might plead that he did it 
at his request, yet that was no excuse, for it would be very wick- 
ed in you or me to kill any one, if he desired it. So David said, 
“ Thy blood be upon thy head ; for thy mouth hath testified 
against thee, saying, I have slain the Lord’s anointed.” And, at 
David’s command, one of the young men fell upon him, and 
smote him that he died. 

This man was also an Amalekite, of which David had assured 
himself by asking him to say it a second time, and the people of 
this nation, being very wicked, were all sentenced by their 
Maker to be put to death. 

The man’s story is, however, not believed by many, as it does 
not agree with the account of Saul’s death given in the former 
chapter, and as he was not consistent in all he said. You recollect 


455 



child’s commentator. 


that there Saul is said to have killed himself, but this man said 
that he it was who killed him. Then he said that Saul told him. 
his life was whole in him, and yet he was sure that he could not 
live after he was fallen, and so he slew him. From these contra- 
dictions, it is supposed that the man really told a lie to David— 
that he happened to find the body of Saul dead on the field after 
he had killed himself — that he then took the crown and bracelets 
from him, and carried them to David, and — to make his merit 
appear greater — told him that his was the hand that gave the 
king the final blow. David knew not then but that all this was true, 
and so he caused him to be executed ; thus you see what he got 
by lying. Had he never thought of this lie, and gone to David 
with it, he might probably have escaped and been saved. 

This chapter concludes with an elegy, or funeral song, which 
David wrote on the death of Saul and Jonathan. 


^ THE SECOND CHAPTER OF II. SAMUEL. 

Battle between Abner and Joab. 

( “ And there was a very sore battle that day : and Abner was 

beaten, and the men of Israel, before the servants of David.” — 
Ver. 17. 


Saul being dead, David — having before been anointed king — 
inquired of the Lord if he should go up to the cities of Judah, and 
God directed his way, and told him to go up to Hebron. So he 
took his wives and his friends and followers and went up. “ And 
the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over 
the house of Judah.” 

“But Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul’s host, took Ish- 
besheth the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim 
and he made him king over Israel. And when he had reigned 
two years, he was then forty years of age. So David was only king 
of Judah in Hebron, while Ish-bosheth reigned, which was during 
seven years and a half. 



456 



child’s commentator. 

Abner being the chief general of Ish-bosheth’s troops, resolved 
to lead them out and fight against David ; and Joab, the son of 
Zeruiah, a sister of David, and David’s commander, went out with 
his men, and “ they met together by the pool of Gibeon : and they 
sat down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the 
other side of the pool,” and so they watched each other’s motions. 

Abner now gave a challenge to Joab, and said, “ Let the young 
men now arise and play before us.” What do you suppose this 
play was ? — why, he meant that a few of them should fight with 
their swords, to show who could most quickly kill his opponent. 
This was an ancient custom, and such fighters were known among 
the Romans under the name of gladiators. 

Joab accepted of this challenge, and twelve men of the tribe of 
Benjamin met twelve of the tribe of Judah. “And they caught 
every one his fellow by the head, and thrust his sword in his fel- 
low’s side, so they fell down together they were equally strong 
and brave, and as none would yield the whole twenty-four per- 
ished ! So the place was called Helkath-hazzurim, which signi- 
fies the field of rocky men, or mighty men, who stood as immova- 
ble as a rock, and would not yield, but died fighting on the spot. 

Was not this cruel, to let twenty -four fine men kill one another 
in this way 1 And yet this is not half so wicked, as to send whole 
armies to fight against each other, and kill one another, when they 
never did any thing to offend one another in their lives; yet if 
you read the histories of nations, you will find that this has often 
been done by tyrants, only to serve their own ambition, and take 
a few towns or cities from their weaker neighbours. 

The whole of the armies next engaged, and Abner, — who had 
proposed the cruel play, — was routed and obliged to run for his 
life. 

Among David’s officers were his three nephews, Joab, and 
Abishai, and Asahel. And Asahel was a famous runner, and “ as 
light of foot as a wild roe.” He was resolved either to kill Abner 
or take him prisoner, and so, perhaps, end the war at once. So 
he passed by all others and pursued after him. Abner, though 
obliged to flee, was yet a bold soldier, and he knew that he could 
vanquish Asahel, for though he might be swifter than he, he was 


457 



child’s commentator. 

not stronger, and perhaps not so skilful. He therefore warned 
Asahel to go back, and fight with some others and not with him, 
and as he knew Joab, who was a valiant man, would never forget 
to avenge Asahel’s death if he killed him, he was yet the more 
loath to do it. But Asahel did not mind Abner, and at length 
coming up close to him, and perhaps being just about to kill him, 
Abner suddenly thrust the hinder part of his spear into him — it 
being probably sharp at both ends — and as it went quite through 
him, he instantly fell dead. 

At length Abner collected his troops on the top of a hill, and 
he called out to Joab, as he was still advancing, “ Shall the sword 
devour for ever? — knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in 
the end ? How long shall it be then ere thou bid the people re- 
turn from following their brethren ?” Joab was the conqueror, 
but he listened to his reasonable language, yet not without justly 
| reproaching him that he had challenged to the battle, and begun 
jl the war in the morning. The maker of mischief is very often the 

ft first to suffer by his own folly, and Abner paid dearly for his 

; cruel proposal that the young men should play. I do not like to 
see young folks play at soldiers at all — we should never, imitate 
bad things, and fighting at best is always a bad thing. I had ra- 
ther see them with a book than a wooden sword, and with a 
j whistle than a drum. 

“ So Joab blew a trumpet, and all the people stood still, and 
pursued after Israel no more, neither fought they any more.” 

In this battle Joab lost twenty of David’s men, including 
Asahel, but Abner lost three hundred and sixty men. Asahel, 
being a great man, was buried in a sepulchre at Bethlehem, and 
the rest on the field of battle. 



458 


child’s commentator. 


THE THIRD CHAPTER OF II. SAMUEL. 

The Murder of Abner by Joab. 

“ And the king lamented over Abner, and said, Died Abner as a 
fool dieth 1 

“Thy hands were not bound, nor thy feet put into fetters: as a 
manfalleth before wicked men, so fellest thou.”— Vers. 33, 34. 


“Now there was long war between the house of Saul and the 
house of David,” for, as before observed, David reigned in He- 
bron only, for more than seven years, while Ish-bosheth contin- 
ued king over Israel. “ But David waxed” or grew “ stronger 
and stronger, and the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker 
David’s troops continually gaining the advantage over those of 
the house of Saul, which became gradually fewer, and perhaps 
less disposed for battle when they were sure to be beaten. 

At length a quarrel took place between Abner and Ish-bosheth 
the king of Israel. Abner had visited one of the concubines or 
inferior wives of Saul, who survived him, and who, like the wo- 
men in the east in such cases, was shut up from the eyes of men. 
Such an act was proof of a great liberty, and was generally con- 
sidered as a first step towards aiming to get the throne. So Ish- 
bosheth reproved Abner for what he had done, to let him know 
that he was not unacquainted with his proceedings. 

Abner neither confessed nor denied the charge, but as he had 
raised Ish-bosheth to the throne, when the people were expecting 
it to become David’s, he having been anointed for it — he was 
very angry at the king for reproving him, and he threatened that 
he would no longer serve him, but give up the kingdom to Da- 
vid, for whom God had designed it. And Abner, having great 
authority, and the command of all the troops, Ish-bosheth was 
afraid of him, and said no more. 

However, Abner did not forget his threat, but — while he was 
yet angry — he sent messengers to David to make a league or 
covenant with him, that he would forget all that had passed and 




57 


CHILD'S COMMENTATOR. 


459 


become friends, and he would bring over all Israel to him. David 
readily agreed, but as the first terms of the covenant, he required 
Abner to get his wife Michal, Saul’s daughter, restored to him, 
whom Saul had separated from David, and given for a wife to 
Phaltiel the son of Laish. This could, however, only be done most 
readily through the permission of Ish-bosheth, who was Michal’s 
brother. So Abner, having probably agreed to forward David’s 
object, David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth to restore Michal to 
him, and Ish-bosheth sent and took her from her husband, who 
went after her weeping asiar as Bahurim, a city of the tribe of 
Benjamin, when he was ordered back by Abner. 

Then Abner met the elders or chiefs of Israel, and told them 
that he knew they formerly wished to have David for their king, 
and if they would now have him, he would not oppose them. His 
next step was to gather together the people of the tribe of Ben- 
jamin, to which he belonged, and over which he had much influ- 
ence ; and as Saul was of that tribe, he desired to gain their con- 
sent, that they might not afterwards trouble David. 

Having settled matters agreeably to his wishes, Abner took 
twenty men with him, who were probably leaders in Israel, and 
they went to David at Hebron. Here, according to the custom 
of the times, David made a feast for them in token of harmony, 
and so the affair was settled. 

Nothing now remained but that all Israel should be made ac- 
quainted with what Abner and the chiefs had done, and he went 
home to gather them together, to swear allegiance to David as 
their king. 

While these things were taking place, Joab, David’s command- 
er-in-chief, happened to be out with some soldiers, pursuing a 
troop of wild plunderers, still common in the East, and having 
beaten them, he returned with great spoil. 

When he found that Abner had seen David, and that acts of 
friendship had passed between them, he was very much mortified ; 
for he was, most likely, afraid lest Abner, who was a very fine 
officer, should become a favourite with David after raising him to 
the throne of Israel, and he was perhaps aware that David did not 
very cordially love him, as he was a haughty and overbearing man. 


460 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


So he said to David — which was a very impudent way of ad- 
dressing his king — “ What hast thou done ? behold Abner came 
unto thee ; why is it that thou hast sent him away, and he is quite 
gone? Thou knowest Abner the son of Ner, that he came to de- 
ceive thee, and to know thy going out, and thy coming in, and to 
know all that thou doest;” intimating that he was only a spy, 
and meant nothing sincere in all he had said and done. 

Then, unknown to David, he sent messengers after Abner, and 
they got him to return. And Joab waited for him at the gate of 
Hebron, and called him aside, as if to speak to him about some- 
thing secret and important, and then stabbed him under the fifth 
rib, which was in the same place in which he had stabbed Asahel, 
Joab’s brother, and he pretended that for that cause only he had 
slain him — “ for the blood of Asahel his brother.” 

Now Asahel had fallen in war, and Abner had unwillingly 
killed him, to save his own life; but this act of Joab was most 
treacherous, and was nothing less than deliberate murder. When, 
therefore, David heard of it, he was much grieved, and he said, 
“ I and my kingdom are guiltless before the Lord for ever from 
the blood of Abner, the son of Ner; let it rest on the head of 
Joab and on all his father’s house,” for though Joab’s hand had 
done the cruel deed, his brethren had no doubt some share in 
urging him on to do it. And in his indignation, David, to show 
his horror at the crime, wished that Joab’s house might be afflict- 
ed with a number of diseases, or fall by the sword in war, or per- 
ish for want of bread. 

Though Joab did what was base and criminal in this affair, yet 
we may see in it the just judgment of God ; for, by raising Ish- 
bosheth to the throne of Israel, Abner had opposed the designs 
of God, which he knew ; and he had been the cause of all the 
wars which had so long existed between the house of Saul and the 
house of David, in which much blood had been shed ; and his con- 
duct at the last, towards Ish-bosheth, was exceedingly treacherous 
and vile. Thus you see how God can punish the wicked even in 
this world. He often lets bad men take their own course, and 
they both punish themselves and each other. 

David, however, looked only at Joab’s crime, which was dis- 




child’s commentator. 461 

graceful to Judah. And he ordered Joab to rend his clothes, and 
gird on sackcloth, and mourn before Abner. And he himself 
followed the bier on which he was carried to the tomb. It was 
not usual for kings, as the Jews say, to attend a funeral, to go 
out of the doors of the palace after their own dead, and much 
less others ; but David did this to satisfy the people, and to root 
out of their mind all suspicion of his having any hand in Abner’s 
death, and to show that he was not slain by his will, or with his 
consent. 

“ And they buried Abner in Hebron : and the king lifted up his 
voice and wept at the grave of Abner : and all the people wept.” 
They were all grieved at the treachery of Joab, which was likely 
to bring dishonour upon them — for nothing is more base than 
treachery — and the tears of David moved them also to tears, 

, Then the king pronounced an elegy over Abner’s grave, which 
I you have read at the head of this chapter, “ Died Abner as the 
fool dieth V meaning that he did not die like the foolish infatua- 
• ted malefactor who had broken the laws of his country ; he was 

> never thrown into prison and fettered, but he had fallen by the 

hands of blood-thirsty and deceitful men. 

After this, David fasted for some time; and he told his cour- 
tiers, as a reason for his conduct, that Abner was a prince and a 
great man, — for he was one of the royal family of Israel, his father 
was Saul’s uncle, and he his own cousin ; and as he was a great 
general, and skilful in state affairs, and was likely to restore 
peace to all Israel and Judah, his loss was that of a man which 
would be greatly felt, and w r as therefore much to be deplored. — 
But he himself was weak, though anointed king ; the sons of his 
sister Zeruiah, — that is, Joab and Abishai — were too hard for him, 
and he could not venture to punish them, lest they should cause 
a rebellion ; — however they would not escape at last, for “ the 
Lord shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness.” 



462 


child’s commentator. 


THE FOURTH CHAPTER OF II. SAMUEL. 


The Murder of Ish-bosheth. 


“ And the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, 
went, and came about the heat of the day to the house of Ish- 
bosheth, who lay on a bed at noon. 

“ And they came thither into the midst of the house, as though 
they would have fetched wheat ; and they smote him under 
the fifth rib ; and Rechab, and Baanah his brother escaped.” — 
Vers. 5, 6. 


Ish-bosheth having lost his great captain, Abner, was in a state 
of much alarm, “ his hands were feeble,” for probably he had no 
commander so brave and skilful as he was. 

While he was in this state of agitation, and all the Israelites 
too, two of his captains, Rechab and Baanah his brother, con- 
spired to kill him. 

Perhaps they thought that they should be justified in this deed, 
as Ish-bosheth had no right to the throne, even though he was a 
son of Saul ; for there was a son of Jonathan — his elder brother 
— alive, whose name was Mephibosheth. This son was five years 
old, and under the care of a nurse when Saul and Jonathan were 
slain ; she then, fearing for his safety, fled with him from the royal 
palace in Gibeah, where she thought the Philistines might come 
and kill him, and in her haste let him fall, and hurt his feet so 
much that he became a cripple. He must now have been about 
twelve years old. 

In hot countries, people, and especially the rich, always take 
rest during the violent heat at noon. This was the time fixed 
upon by these wicked men to execute their evil purpose. So they 
went to the house of Ish-bosheth at the hour when he was resting, 
and appeared to go in to fetch wheat for themselves, their cattle 
and men, the king’s granaries being there ; and having entered 
his apartment, they smote him under the fifth rib, and then, hav- 




463 


child’s commentator. 


ing cut off his head, they escaped with it and took it to David, 
who, it is reckoned, was sixty-eight miles from Ish-bosheth’s res- 
idence. 

And now they presented the head in triumph, and said to Da- 
vid, ‘‘ Behold the head of lsh-bosheth the son of Saul thine enemy, 
which sought thy life ; and the Lord hath avenged my lord the 
king this day of Saul, and of his seed,” hoping by these words to 
make their present the more agreeable to the king. 

But David told the murderers how he had served the Amalek- 
ite who brought him tidings that he had killed Saul ; and, as Ish- 
bosheth was innocent of any crime towards them, and was rest- 
ing on his bed unsuspicious of any such guilty men approaching 
him, they were still more guilty, and had acted as traitors to- 
wards him ; and so, as a just punishment, David commanded 
them to be slain ; and their hands and feet to be cut off and hung 
up in public, as a warning to others against doing the like cruel 
and treacherous deeds. 


THE FIFTH CHAPTER OF II. SAMUEL. 

David King over all Israel. 

“ So all the elders came to the king to Hebron, and King David 
made a league with them in Hebron before the Lord : and 
they anointed David king over all Israel.” — Ver. 3. 

Ish-bosheth and Abner being dead, the tribes of Israel resolved 
at once to make David their king. 

So all the elders went to Hebron, and David made a league or 
agreement with them, promising to do them justice on his part, 
while they promised to obey him on theirs. He had been anoint- 
ed by Samuel as God’s chosen king, and again as king of Judah, 
and now a third time as king of all Israel. 

At this time he was thirty-seven years and a half old, having 
reigned in Hebron from the age of thirty ; after this “ he reigned 
thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah,” making in the 
whole forty years’ reign. 




464 child’s commentator. 




After David was anointed king, his first exploit was to gain 
Jerusalem out of the hand of the Jebusites, — the inhabitants of 
the land, — that city being given to the tribe of Benjamin, but 
they had never wholly made themselves masters of it. 

Now the walls were very strong, and when David appeared 
before them the Jebusites laughed at him, and placed some blind 
and lame men on them, or what we call invalids, or w r orn-out 
and crippled soldiers. Then they told him, jeeringly, that these 
were enough to defend them against his army, and till he could 
take them, he could never get into their city. 

So David promised to make him captain who should find his 
way through a secret passage for water, by w'hich he might get 
at the lame and blind, or invalids, and smite them for their inso- 
lence, for they had said, — even the lame and the blind, — he shall 
not come into the house, or set his foot in any habitation. 

David, however, conquered these boasters, and dwelt in the 
fort, and called it the city of David. 

This was the city which afterwards became so famous, where 
the Temple was built, and where the family of David was fixed. 

And David built many buildings round about a spot called 
Millo, 

Hiram, king of Tyre, also sent to congratulate him 6n his ac- 
cession to the throne, and as Hiram’s subjects were better archi- 
tects than the Israelites, they were employed in building David a 
palace suited to his exalted station. 

It was then a custom for kings to strengthen alliances or 
friendships, by marrying many wives from great families, and 
David also did so. 

The Philistines were, however, jealous of the union of Judah 
and Israel, and fearing that David might grow too powerful for 
them, they made haste to march their armies against him. 

So David asked of God to direct him, and God said unto him, 
u Go up ; for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into thine 
hand.” 

And David smote the Philistines ; and in memory of his vic- 
tory, he called the name of the place Baal-perazim, which means, 
the plain of breaches , because there the Lord had broken forth 




CHILD 3 COMMENTATOR. 


465 


upon his enemies* just like the overwhelming waters of a flood, 
and destroyed them. 

Notwithstanding their defeat, the Philistines again came with 
their armies, and pitched in the same place as before. Again David 
asked counsel of God, and he was commanded to march behind 
them, and there should be a rustling among the leaves of some 
mulberry-trees, which when he heard, he was to fall upon the 
rear of the Philistines, — who would probably not hear the move- 
ment of the Israelites on account of that of the trees, — and so the 
Philistines would easily be overcome, the arm of the Almighty 
helping Israel against their foes. 

‘‘ And David did so, as the Lord had commanded him, and 
smote the Philistines from Geba” to Gazer ; or from Gibeon, 
which was the same place, and a city in the tribe of Benjamin, to 
Gazer, a city which was on the borders of the Philistines, and 
about eighteen miles from the spot where the battle was fought. 


THE SIXTH AND SEVENTH CHAPTERS OF II. SAMUEL. 

Removal of the Ark and solemn Death of Uzzah, 

“ And David arose, and went with all the people that were with 
him from Baale of J udah, to bring up from thence the ark of 
God.” — Chap. vi. 2. 


The ark had remained for fifty years at Kirjath-jearim, the 
place to which it was taken when it was fetched from Beth-shem- 
esh, excepting that Saul once had it at Gibeah. 

David now resolved that it should be near him in his chief city, 
for it was the sign of God’s presence, and on that he relied for 
protection. So he took thirty thousand choice men to guard it. 
And he brought it from Baale of J udah, another name for Kir- 
jath-jearim, the place where it was. 

“ And they set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it 
out of the house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah,” a part of the 


466 



i 


child’s commentator. 

city of Baale, so called ; — “ and Uzzah and Ahio the sons of 
Abinadab, drove the new cart.” 

Now the command originally given for carrying the ark was, 
that it should be borne upon men’s shoulders, and those men 
should be Levites only of the family of Kohath, to whom no wa- 
gons were given for carrying sacred materials — so that putting 
the ark into a cart was forgetting the command of God. This 
seemed a little mistake, but little mistakes are serious things in 
religion, and often lead to bad consequences, and so it turned out 
here. 

The ark moved forward, and David, and all the house of Israel, 
played on a number of musical instruments to express their joy. 
But when they came to Nachon’s threshing-floor, “ Uzzah put 
forth his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it to keep it 
from falling, “ for the oxen shook it. And the anger of the Lord 
was kindled against Uzzah, and God smote him there for his er- 
ror ; and there he died by the ark of God.” So David ever after 
called the place Perez-uzzah, or the breach of Uzzah. 

You will wonder what crime Uzzah committed in only trying 
to keep the ark steady : but, it was forbidden to touch the ark on 
pain of death, and the priests were to carry it on staves only, and 
not to put their hands to it. It was a token of God’s presence 
with the people, and he would not therefore have it treated light- 
ly. But this act of Uzzah’s was too familiar, and his punishment 
teaches us how very solemnly we ought always to behave in 
every thing belonging to religion ; “ for God is greatly to be 
feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence 
of all them that are about him.” 

David was frightened at this judgment, and lest he should 
further err, he resolved to leave the ark, and wait further direc- 
tions from God before he attempted to take it to Jerusalem. So 
he carried it aside to the house of one Obed-edom, who was one 
of the Levites, and it remained under his care three months ; 
“ and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household.” 

Obed-edom prospered so greatly that every body talked about 
him, and the news of his success came to the ears of David. This 
encouraged him to try further and get the ark nearer to him. 



CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


467 


“ So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house 
of Obed-edom, in the city of David, with gladness.” Having learnt 
that none but the Levites of the family of Kohath ought to carry 
the ark, he had it now borne in a proper manner, and when they 
■who bare it had gone six steps, “ he sacrificed oxen and fatlings,” 
to express gratitude to God, and to atone for the former error. 

On this occasion David laid aside the distinctions of royalty 
and put on a linen ephod ; and he danced sacred dances, or ex- 
pressed his joy by dancing movements before the ark, while the 
people shouted and the trumpets sounded. 

As the procession entered David’s city, Michal, Saul’s daugh- 
ter, looked through a window in the palace to see it, it being 
very grand ; and when she saw David “leaping and dancing be- 
fore the Lord, she despised him in her heart,” thinking that he 
acted a mean part, and unworthy of his dignity. Michal, though 
Saul’s daughter, does not seem to have had any religion, and it 
is no uncommon thing for irreligious people now to despise those 
that are religious. 

So the ark was brought and set in its place, “ and David 
offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before the Lord,” and 
having blessed the people and given them refreshment, he “ re- 
turned to bless his household.” 

“ And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David,” 
and she sneered at him, “ and said, How glorious was the king 
of Israel to-day, who uncovered himself to-day in the eyes of the 
handmaids of his servants,” stripping off his royal robes, “ as 
one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself?” 

But David was not to be laughed out of his piety, and he said 
if this was to be vile, he would yet be more vile ; if he had 
danced and praised God before the ark, he was ready to do so 
again ; and while he exalted God and humbled himself, he was 
sure that God would exalt him before all his household. 

Those who ridicule religion and the servants of God, will bring 
upon themselves disgrace in the end. Michal, the daughter of 
Saul, never became a mother, which among the women of Israel, 
who hoped each that the promised Messiah should spring from 
them, w r as an extremely great mortification. “ Them that honour 
18 



468 child’s commentator. 

God, he will honour, but those that despise him and his servants’ 
service, shall be lightly esteemed. 


After this, when David was at rest and sitting in the house 
which Hiram’s servants had built for him, David spoke to Nathan 
the prophet, and told him that he did not feel satisfied to dwell in 
a fine house of cedar, while the ark of God dwelt only under a 
tent, for it had no other covering. And Nathan advised him to do 
what he wished, and prepare a better place for it. But God made 
known his mind to Nathan that same night, and told him to pre- 
vent David from building the new habitation for the ark, for he 
had never desired it ; but as he approved of every good desire, 
he would build up David’s house, meaning that his family should 
prosper — and he would establish his throne ; and his son, who 
should reign after him, should build him a house for the ark. 

And David was very grateful to God for his kind promises, 
and contented to leave building the house, since he commanded 
it, and he offered up a fine prayer to God, closing it with this 
petition, — and none of us can ask God for any thing better, — 
“ And with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed 
for ever.” This prayer you will find in the seventh chapter, 
with which it ends. 


THE EIGHTH CHAPTER OF II. SAMUEL. 

David's Conquests. 

M Of Syria and of Moab, and of the children of Ammon, and of 
the Philistines.” — Yer. 12. 

The Philistines had long been great enemies to Israel. Samson 
weakened them, Samuel and Saul also contended with them, and 
now David makes an entire conquest of them ; and he “ took Me- 
thegammah,” which is supposed to have been an eminence on 
which Gath was built, that place so famous on account of Goliath. 


rVUUtJNl^l blH UJL UlAVU AU NalULaa 


. 













child’s commentator. 471 


David also smote Moab and measured them with a line ; he 
divided the country into three parts, two of which he destroyed, 
and he left the people of the third part to till the ground, and 
become the servants of Israel. Thus he also subdued these bit- 
ter foes of Israel. 

David likewise smote the Syrians, for as he went to settle the 
border of his kingdom at the river Euphrates, Hadadezer, the 
king of Zobah — wffiich was a part of Syria— opposed him ; he, 

! the king of Zobah, having some of the- land which God designed 
for Israel. And in the battle the Syrians lost “ a thousand war 
chariots and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand 
footmen ; and David crippled all the horses, that they might not 
be used any more in war. And the Syrians of Damascus having 
joined their brethren against David, he also beat them, and slew 
two and twenty thousand men. Thus the Syrians also became 
| servants to David, and brought him gifts, or paid him tribute. 

! And in this war he got great riches, for the officers of Hadadezer 

g wore fine ornaments of gold, w'hich he took to Jerusalem, and 

5 out of his cities he obtained “ exceeding much brass.” 

[ Besides these spoils, David received large presents from Toi, 
j king of Hamath, which was also in Syria. For Hadadezer had 
been a great foe to Toi, and was often at war with him, and sought 
to take his kingdom from him ; so in gratitude for his deliverance 
he sent Joram his son to David, to congratulate him on his victory, 
and to beg his acceptance of a number of vessels of silver, and 
gold, and brass. But David kept none of this wealth for himself, 
he dedicated or set apart all of it for the Lord’s service, to be used 
when the temple should be built, — and this accounts for the abun- 
dance of precious metals, of which you will read, w r hich David 
left to his son Solomon, for the purpose of raising that building. 
David, moreover, put garrisons in all Edom, to keep the peo- 
| pie quiet, and the Edomites became tributary to him, and he 
reigned happily and peaceably over all Israel. 

And these were David’s chief officers of state : 

Joab, commander-in-chief. 

Jehoshaphat, recorder, or keeper of the annals, or memorable 
events of the kingdom. 



472 



child’s commentator. 


Abiathar, high priest. 

Ahimelech and Zadok, assistant priests. 

Seraiah, scribe, or secretary of state, to correspond with oi 
write to great persons at home and abroad, about the affairs of 
the kingdom. 

Benaiah, captain of the body guards, who always attended 
David ; these were called Cherethites and Pelethites, and are 
thought to have been those who accompanied David in his di- 
tresses, and perhaps some were Philistines who had joined him ; 
though some suppose that they were archers, who used the bow 
and arrow ; and slingers, who used the sling and stone, as David 
did with the Philistine. 

David’s sons, court attendants, waiting upon the king, and 
ready to do what he was pleased to order them. 


THE NINTH CHAPTER OF II. SAMUEL. 


David's kindness to Mephibosheth. 

“ And David said, Is there yet any that are left of the house of 
Saul, that I may show him kindness for J onathan’s sake — 
Ver. 1. 


Good men always feel a pleasure in doing good, and in showing 
their gratitude to all who have done them good. You remember 
that Jonathan was the particular friend of David, and that when 
Saul was so cruel to him, Jonathan did all he could to serve him. 
David now recollected this kindness, and he inquired if there was 
any one of Jonathan’s kindred remaining, that he might show him 
kindness for Jonathan’s sake. Having found out Ziba, an old 
servant of Saul’s, he learnt that Mephibosheth — of whom we have 
before read, and who was a son of Jonathan’s — was still living in 
some retired part of the country called Lodebar, where his friends 
had probably hid him to keep him from danger. So David sent 
to fetch him, and when he came into David’s presence, he paid the 
most profound respect to him as his king. And David called him 


child’s commentator. 


473 


by name, and being sure that he was Jonathan’s son, he told him 
not to fear that he would hurt him ; no, he would be very kind to 
him for Jonathan’s sake, to whom he had made a vow that he 
would not cut off his kindness from his house for ever, and he 
should have all the lands of Saul for an inheritance, and should 
be treated as a prince, and eat at his table. 

Mephibosheth was quite overcome with this kindness, and 
bowing himself before David, he said, “ What is thy servant, that 
thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am ?” by which he 
meant that his family having been cut off from the throne, and his 
circumstances being reduced, he was as unworthy of the king’s 
notice as if he were but a dead dog. Mephibosheth’s humility was 
as engaging as David’s condescension, and the whole of this scene 
is highly lovely, interesting, and instructive. It is difficult to say 
who felt the greater pleasure, David in bestowing his favours, or 
Mephibosheth in receiving them. 

Then David ordered Ziba to see after the land which he had 
given to his master, and to take care that it should be tilled for 
the use of his household, for Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty 
servants, and “ all that dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants 
unto Mephibosheth.” Besides, Mephibosheth had a son whose 
name was Micah, and him also did David include in this kind 
provision. 

“So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem; for he did eat conti- 
nually at the king’s table ; and he was lame on both his feet.’ 


! 


THE TENTH CHAPTER OF II. SAMUEL. 

David's Ambassadors insulted by the Ammonites , who together with 
the Syrians , are defeated by Israel. 

“ And the princes of the children of Ammon said unto Hanun 
their lord, thinkest thou that David doth honour thy father 
that he hath sent comforters unto thee ? Hath not David 
rather sent his servants unto thee to search the city, and to 
spy it out, and to overthrow it?” — Ver. 3. 



0 


474 child’s commentator. 

We have now to notice another instance of David’s grateful 
disposition. 

After his wars with the Moabites, Syrians, and Edomites, David 
having learnt that the king of the Ammonites was dead, according 
to the custom of friendly princes towards each other, — sent to 
condole with the new king, Hanun, on his recent loss, and to 
assure him of his peaceable disposition towards him. And in this 
embassy he was influenced by a feeling of gratitude, recollecting 
that Nahash, Hanun’s father, had formerly shown kindness to 
him. 

Hanun’s courtiers, however, persuaded him that David’s mes- 
sengers were only spies, sent to see the strength of his city that he 
might overthrow it. So Hanun took David’s servants, and shaved 
off half their beards, which was one of the greatest insults that 
could be offered in those parts. And he cut short their garments, 
so as to make them look ridiculous, and sent them away. 

When David heard how they had been served, he advised them 
to stay at Jericho, a retired place, till their beards were grown, and 
they were fit to appear more publicly. 

The people of Ammon soon learned that they stank before 
David, or were disagreeable to him as any vile nuisance, — bad 
neighbours which he could not like, and expecting they would not 
forget the insults offered to his servants, they collected an army of 
hired Syrians, to the amount of twenty thousand men, and of the 
king of Maacah, a place in the tribe of Manasseh, a thousand 
men ; and of Ishtob, or Tob, supposed to have been the place 
where Jephthah fled from his brethren, situated in the land of 
Gilead, — twelve thousand men ; making in all thirty-three thou- 
sand men. 

David heard of these preparations, and he was not idle, but 
“ sent Joab and all the host of the mighty men” of Israel to give 
battle to these hired wretches, who, without even any cause of 
excuse to provoke them, had sold themselves, or had been sold 
by their princes, to slay their fellow-creatures. 

“ And the children of Ammon came out and put the battle in 
array at the entering in of the gate” of their city, while their 
hirelings from Syria were in the open field, probably intending to 



CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


475 


attack David’s army behind, while the Ammonites in the city 
should attack it in front. 

Now, Joab was a skilful general, and when he saw that he had 
two armies against him, the one fronting him on one side and the 
other on the other side, he chose all his most courageous men to 
face the Syrians, — they perhaps being the most numerous,— and 
he trusted the others to his brother Abishai, that he might put 
them in array against the children of Ammon,” and he made an 
agreement with him, that if either of them was forced to give way, 
the other should help him. He also made a speech on the occa- 
sion becoming a brave man. “ Be of good courage,” said he, 
“ and let us play the men for our people, and for the cities of 
our God : and the Lord do that which seemeth him good.” 

Then Joab attacked the Syrians, who instantly gave way, for 
being but hired troops, they did not fight very heartily ; and 
when the Ammonites saw them run, they took the alarm and fled 
into the city. So the victory was won. Joab did not take the 
city, but was satisfied that he had dispersed the armies. 

However, the Syrians were so much mortified at their defeat, 
that they collected a larger army, and a number of kings now 
joined together to beat the Israelites. We are not here told what 
was the size of this army, but Josephus, the Jewish historian, says, 
it consisted of eighty thousand foot soldiers, and ten thousand horse. 

David himself now seems to have taken the command of his 
army, and went out to meet this powerful force. And now the 
Syrians, probably very confident in their numbers, begun the 
battle, and “ set themselves in array against David,” and they did 
not run away at first, but “ fought with him — and then the Syrians 
fled before Israel, and David slew the men of seven hundred cha- 
riots of the Syrians, and forty thousand horsemen, and smote 
Shobach the captain of their host, who died there. And when all 
the kings that were servants” or tributary “ to Hadarezer, (called 
before Hadadezer,) saw that they were smitten before Israel ,” and 
could not dare any longer to contend with them, “ they made 
peace with Israel and served them,” becoming tributary to them, 
and paying them money for the support of the state. “ So 
Syrians feared to help the children of Ammon any more.” 


the 


476 


child’s commentator. 


THE ELEVENTH CHAPTER OF II. SAMUEL. 

The Murder of Uriah. 

“ And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he as. 

signed Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men were. 
“And the men of the city went out and fought with Joab: and 
there fell some of the people of the servants of David, and 
Uriah the Hittite died also.” — Vers. 16, 17. 


The Ammonites being now left to themselves, David sent out 
his general, Joab, with a large army, and they destroyed the ci- 
ties of Ammon and their inhabitants, and besieged Rabbah their 
chief city. Thus was this wicked nation destroyed for their 
wickedness. Sin always brings ruin. 

While this army was out, David remained at Jerusalem. And 
as he walked one evening to enjoy the cool air on the roof of his 
house, which, — like those in the East, was quite flat and made to 
walk upon, — he saw a woman washing herself in a neighbouring 
house, and as she was very beautiful, he thought he should like to 
add her to the number of his wives. So he inquired who she was, 
and found that her name was Bath-sheba, and that she was the 
wife of Uriah, one of his officers who was gone out with Joab. 

And now David, who had hitherto shown himself so good a 
man, did a most wicked thing, for he resolved to have Uriah’s wife. 
Then, to cover his designs, that nobody might suspect what he was 
about, he sent for Uriah, and treated him very kindly, and told 
him he might go home to Bath-sheba, who still remained in her 
house ; but Uriah slept in the guard-room, and would not go home 
while his troops were faring hard in the field of battle. So David 
having outwardly shown great kindness to Uriah, and, indeed, 
sinfully obliged him to drink till he was drunk, — wrote a letter 
to Joab, which he sent by him, and said, “ Set ye Uriah in the 
fore-front of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he 
may be smitten and die.” 






child's commentator. 477 


This was very cruel and unjust, to order a brave man and a 
faithful servant to be killed ; and, as he knew he did wrong, he 
contrived this method that Uriah might appear to die by what we 
call the chance of war. But David gave this order that he might 
get rid of Uriah, and then marry his wife. 

Joab did not know if Uriah had committed any crime or not, 
but he readily obeyed the king’s orders, and Uriah was slain. 

Then Joab sent a message to David to tell him, Uriah was dead ; 
and knowing that it was an unfair way of punishing Uriah, even 
if he had committed any crime, he concealed the order from the 
messenger, who did not go and say, Uriah is dead as the king 
commanded ; but, “ the shooters shot from off the wall upon thy 
servants, and some of the king’s servants be dead, and thy servant 
Uriah the Hittite is dead also.” Joab pretended that the king 
might appear angry at exposing Uriah to such a danger, and 
might ask, “ Who smote Abimelech, the son of J erubbesheth 1 — 
did not a woman cast a piece of a mill-stone upon him from the 
wall, that he died in Thebez — of which you have read in the 
ninth chapter of Judges, and fifty -third verse. So the king might 
tell the messenger that Joab should have remembered Abimelech’s 
fate, and not so have endangered Uriah. 

However, the king did not need Joab’s pretences to help him 
out, for he said very coolly, “ The sword devoureth one as well as 
another,” and Joab must take more care in future and make his 
battle more strong. 

All this time, David knew that it was not the sword that had 
devoured Uriah, properly speaking, — though he had been killed 
in war, — but his death was settled by himself, and that poor 
Uriah was, in reality, as much murdered as if he himself had 
shot him. 

Uriah now being dead, there was no obstacle in the way to Bath- 
sheba marrying David. She put on mourning, for a while, for 
her husband, and then “ David sent and fetched her to his house, 
and she became his wife.” 

What do you suppose God, who sees all things, thought of this 
wicked act of David’s ? It did not escape his notice, and though 
David was his favoured servant, the thing that he had done 



child’s commentator. 


478 

“ displeased the Lord,” for all sin is displeasing to God, and will 
be punished in this world or the next. The punishment that 
David brought upon himself will hereafter be related. 


THE TWELFTH CHAPTER OF II. SAMUEL. 

Nathan the Prophet's solemn Message to David . 
“And the Lord sent Nathan unto David.” — Ver. 1. 


After a while, — when David would be less likely to suspect the 
nature of the message and its suitability to himself, and so might 
be made to condemn himself, as you will soon learn, — Nathan 
was sent to David to speak to him in a parable, and so by telling 
him a tale which seemed to refer to some one else, bring home 
the charge of guilt to his own conscience ! 

This parable is very tender and pretty. 

“There were two men in one city ; the one rich and the other 
poor. The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds ; but 
the poor man had nothing save one little ewe lamb, which he had 
brought and nourished up : and it grew up together with him, and 
with his children : it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his 
own cup, and lay in his own bosom, and was unto him as a 
daughter. And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he 
spared to take of his own flock, and of his own herd, to dress for 
the way -faring man that was come unto him, but he took the poor 
man’s lamb and dressed it for the man that was come to him.” 

When David heard this story, which he thought was about 
what had happened to one of his subjects, but which was only a 
parable about himself and Uriah, he was very angry at the man 
that took the poor man’s lamb ; and he declared that he should be 
put to death for so cruel a robbery, and make a recompense, by 
giving him four lambs for the one he had lost. 

Now here he pronounced sentence against himself; for the two 
men who lived in one city meant David and Uriah, who lived in 
Jerusalem. David was a rich king, and Uriah comparatively a 



poor man, though an officer. The rich man had many flocks and 
herds, which were the chief wealth of rich men in those days ; by 
which Nathan meant, that David, like the rich men of his time, 
had many wives ; but the poor man had only one little ewe lamb, 
by which he meant, that Uriah had only one wife, which he had 
bought, as men did their wives in the East : and then, what he says 
further of the lamb was, to show how fondly he was attached to 
Bath-sheba. Then there came a traveller to the rich man — an 
evil desire came to David — and to satisfy that, he took the poor 
man’s lamb, meaning Bath-sheba, of whom he cruelly robbed 
Uriah. This was a very ingenious way of telling David of his 
sin, for, perhaps, he would hardly have borne to have been di- 
rectly called to an account for it. But after he had pronounced 
sentence against the rich man for taking the lamb, what could he 
say for himself in killing poor Uriah and stealing Bath-sheba ? 

Nathan, the prophet, being helped by God to speak this wise 
parable, was now helped to speak boldly and plainly to David. 
“ And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man.” And Nathan 
told him how many things God had allowed him to have, and he 
would have added yet more if necessary. “ Wherefore,” then, said 
he, “ hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord to do evil 
in his sight 1 Thou hast killed Uriah, the Hittite, with the sword, 
and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with 
the sword of the children of Ammon. Now, therefore, the sword 
shall never depart from thine house, because thou hast despised 
me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah, the Hittite, to be thy wife.” 

Then David confessed his sin and repented : and his repentance 
is beautifully expressed in the fifty-first Psalm, some of which I 
may explain when we come to it. 

God, however, visited David with his displeasure. He had a 
son born to him, whose mother was Bath-sheba, but God instantly 
took him away, to the great grief of David. However, another 
son was afterwards born to him, and him God spared ; so he call- 
ed his name Solomon, which means peaceful, because he hoped 
that God had pardoned him and was now at peace with him and 
the prophet called upon him and desired him also to give him the 
name of Jedidiah, which means ‘‘beloved of the Lord.” 



480 


child’s commentator. 


You remember, that when we last read of Joab he was be- 
sieging Rabbah, where Uriah was killed. He now took the city ; 
and before the Ammonites should finally surrender, he asked 
David to make haste to it, that he might have the honour of the 
prisoners surrendering to him ; so David gathered some more 
troops and went and fought against that part of the city which 
was not conquered, and he took it. 

And now, king Hanun, who had so insulted David’s messen- 
gers, and cut off their beards, fell into David’s hands ; and he 
took his crown from his head and put it on his own, which was 
to show that the kingdom of Hanun now belonged to him. This 
was a rich crown, being worth about a talent of gold, which was 
above five thousand pounds of our English money ; besides this, 
David took abundance of spoil from the city. 

Then he made the people slaves, and employed them in saw- 
ing, in making iron harrows, or in mining, and in “ hewing of 
wood, and making of brick.” This is all that is supposed to be 
meant in the last verse, which, without this explanation, may, 
perhaps, be supposed to mean something very cruel, because it 
is said, “ he put the people under saws, and under harrows of iron, 
and under axles of iron, and made them pass through the brick- 
kiln : and thus did he do unto all the cities of the children of Am- 
mon.” The Bible was originally written in Hebrew, and some- 
times it has been found rather difficult to express plainly all its 
meaning in English, and so people have, in a few places, mis- 
taken its meaning. 

The Israelites were, however, sometimes terrible executioners 
of God’s justice on the wicked heathen idolaters ; but in this they 
are never to be copied, because they had a particular commission 
for what they did, and were not taught, as we are, the sweet and 
merciful doctrines of our meek and gracious Saviour. 





child’s commentator. 481 

THE THIRTEENTH AND FOURTEENTH CHAPTERS OF II. SAMUEL. 

Amnon killed by Absalom . 

“ Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, Mark ye 
now, when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine, and when I say 
unto you, Smite Amnon, then kill him, fear not, have not I 
commanded you] — be courageous and valiant.” — Chap. xiii. 28. 


Two of David’s sons, who had different mothers, were named 
Absalom and Amnon. Absalom had a sister on whom Amnon 
laid violent hands, treating her in a very cruel manner ; and 
though he once pretended to be exceedingly fond of her, he sud- 
denly took so great a dislike to her, that it is even said, “ he hated 
her,” and he ordered his servants to insult her and turn her vio- 
lently away from his presence. 

Tamar, in her great affliction at his ill-treatment, put on 
mourning, and attracted the notice of her brother Absalom, who 
desired her not to mind the insult, but secretly intended to take 
vengeance on his half-brother, whom he hated for his behaviour 
to his own sister. 

So, two years after, when it might have been supposed that he 
had forgotten all that had passed, he invited Amnon to go and 
partake of a feast at his sheep-shearing ; and while Amnon was 
merry with wine, and probably intoxicated, Absalom’s servants, — 
whom he had previously told what to do, — fell upon Amnon at 
the feast, before all his brethren, who had also been invited, and 
slew him. 

The news at first reached king David that all his other sons 
had been killed by order of Absalom, and he was in great distress, 
and according to custom, as a sign of grief, rent his clothes ; but 
he soon learnt that Amnon only was killed. 

In the meanwhile, Absalom fled to his mother’s relations, and 
his grandfather Talmai, king of Geshur, protected him for three 
years. 

David was very fond of Absalom, and at last gave over grieving 


i 



482 child’s commentator. 


for Amnon, and longed to see Absalom again, who seemed to him 
to have been absent a very long time. 


Joab, David’s general, was friendly with Absalom, so, being a 
subtle man, he contrived to get the kingls leave for him to be 
brought back to Jerusalem. 

For this purpose, he sent to Tekoah, a city of Judah, about 
twelve miles from Jerusalem, and got the help of a woman who 
was reckoned very wise and prudent, and with whom he could 
safely trust the affair. She was not to anoint herself with oil, — 
as fashionable women did, to appear beautiful, — but to dress like a 
mourner, and seem very much distressed, and then to go to the 
king and relate a fable which Joab invented for her. 

So, having obtained access to the king, and made her obeisance 
to him, she told him that she had two sons who had quarrelled, 
and the one had slain the other; and now her family had 
demanded that the other son, who survived, should be executed 
for having killed his brother ; and she was greatl} in distress, for 
what should she do if she were left without a son ; — they would 
quench her coal entirely ; by which she meant, they would cut off 
the last of her family and destroy it, as much as fire is destroyed 
when water is poured upon the last burning coal. 

The king, having heard her so far, told her to go home, and he 
would inquire into the matter. 

Then the woman said, she was ready to be considered in fault 
if she should do wrong in pardoning her son, and his throne should 
be guiltless. 

The king replied, that she need not fear about that, and if any 
one reproached her, she was to have him brought before him, and 
he should be prevented from troubling her any more. 

Yet once more, the woman pleaded that the king would remem- 
ber the Lord hi^ God, who is very merciful ; and that he would 
show the like mercy, and promise that her son should always be 
protected against the avenger of blood, if any one, at any time, 
should rise up to slay him for killing his brother. 



, V * 

i i 



child's commentator. 483 

David assured her that not a hair of his head should be hurt. 

Having obtained pardon for her pretended son, for the pretend- 
ed murder of his brother — for all this, as I said, was a fable — she 
then asked leave to speak one word more ; and the king having 
given her leave, she intimated that the king was not acting con- 
sistently, when he was ready to pardon her son for the murder of 
his brother, and yet would not pardon his own son, Absalom, for i 
the same crime, but allowed him to remain in banishment ; also, 
that his severity to his son was injurious to the people of God — i 

Israel, who wished for his return ; and that, in neglecting it, he 
was not doing his duty to his kingdom. Besides, she added, that 
we must needs die, and therefore, Amnon must have died some 
time if Absalom had not killed him, and the killing Absalom 
would not bring him to life again. This was a poor excuse for a 
murderer, but was followed by a better plea — that God, who is i 
I no respecter of persons, has mercy on the most vile, and restores l 
then* to his favour ; this plea, however, should not apologize for 
g such a black crime as that of killing a brother. Then she added, | 

B that the reason of her pleading with the king for Absalom was, S 

that the people had made her afraid ; — probably meaning, that | 
I she feared a rebellion would take place in behalf of Absalom, if J 
the king did not restore him ; and she blended her excuse with 1 
the fable about her soil, that she might still remind the king of 
what he had already promised. In conclusion, she flattered the 
king that she was sure he was kind-hearted — “ the word of my 
lord the king shall now be comfortable ” and that he was also 

wise and prudent to see what he ought to do, “ for as an angel 

of God, so is my lord the king, to discern good and bad.” 

The king now saw that all she had related about her son w'as a 
fable, and that she meant, under it, to bring about the pardon of 
Absalom, the king’s own son, for the murder of his brother ; and 
as he thought she would not take this trouble for Absalom out of 
her own head, he suspected that Joab had set her on, he being 
Absalom’s friend. And the woman confessed that he had, and 
that he had told her what to say, and had made the fable that 
David might grant pardon to the brother who murdered his bro- 
ther, without his suspecting for whom she was pleading. 



484 


child’s commentator. 


David saw that as he had pronounced pardon for her supposed 
son, he could not now punish Absalom, his own son, for the same 
crime, without making himself look unmerciful towards him, 
So he said to Joab, who was present, that he might bring back his 
son ; and Joab humbly thanked the king, and went and fetched 
Absalom ; however, David would not allow him to see his face 
or appear at court, so Absalom was shut up in his own house. 

It appears that this young man was very handsome, and Avith- 
out the least, blemish ; and his hair was so fine that whenever he 
had it cut, it weighed, together with the oil and gold dust, which 
was used for powder, upwards of three pounds. He was mar- 
ried, and had three sons, and a daughter named Tamar, who war 
very fair and handsome, like himself. 

After Absalom had remained two years in Jerusalem without 
being allowed to appear at court, he began to grow impatient, and 
perhaps, thought that Joab neglected him in not carrying his ef- 
forts any further in his behalf. So he sent for Joab to talk with 
him about the business, but he had some reasons why he did not 
like to go. Then he sent again, but Joab still kept himself away. 
So, being resolved to see J oab, he^r<Jered his servants to set his 
field of barley on fire, which was rmar Absalom’s, and when Joab 
learnt who had done it, he went to complain to Absalom. 

Then Absalom complained of his hard fate, and was bold enough 
to excuse himself, and to declare that he was ready to die if he 
had done any thing wrong. This message Joab gave to David, 
and he took compassion on Absalom, and allowed him to leave his 
house, and in token of reconciliation, “ the king kissed Absalom.” 


THE FIFTEENTH CHAPTER OF II. SAMUEL. 

Absalom's Rebellion. 

“ And the conspiracy was strong ; for the people increased con 
tinually with Absalom.” — Ver. 12. 


After David had been reconciled to Absalom, “ Absalom pre 
pared him chariots, and horses, and fifty men to run before him.’’ 


child’s commentator. 


485 


that he might look very grand before the people, and that they 
might show that he was coming. Also, to prove that he was no 
sluggard, “ he rose up early and stood beside the way of the gate” 
of the city or the palace ; and when people came to complain to 
the king about any ill usage from others, he stopped them, talked 
to them about it,*and told them their case was very good and just, 
and their complaints were such as ought to be attended to, — but 
the king, he said, would not regard them. Then he lamented that 
he was not appointed their judge to do them justice. And if any 
one approached him he was very kind to him and kissed him, — 
as men embrace each other in the East, — and by this seemingly 
gracious behaviour, he won the hearts of the people of Israel. 

Now, “after forty years,” which some suppose was when Absa- 
lom might be forty years of age, — but this is not certain, — Absa- 
lom asked the king for leave to go to Hebron, to pay a vow, 
which he had made at Geshur, that he would offer some offering 
to God at Hebron, if he should be restored to Jerusalem. So 
David gave him leave. But this was most likely but a pretence, 
for as soon as Absalom got to Hebron, which was at the convenient 
distance of only twenty miles from Jerusalem, he began to con- 
spire to seize his father’s throne. And he “ sent spies throughout 
all the land of Israel,” to see how people liked him, and to per- 
suade them to prefer him to his father ; and these were to say 
that when they heard the trumpet sounded any where, which he 
had probably employed men to blow, then they were to cry out 
that Absalom was king. 

Absalom also got two hundred men of power away from his 
father, under the pretence of inviting them to partake of the feast 
of his peace-offerings ; and then he invited and gained over Ahi- 
thophei, who was David’s most clever counsellor, and by his 
various arts, “ the people increased continually with Absalom*.” 

“ And there came a messenger to David saying, The hearts of 
the men of Israel are after Absalom.” Then David, and his ser- 
vants, and his body guard, instantly fled from J erusalem ; and 
though David urged lttai, the Gittite, who guarded his person, 
to leave him with six hundred other Gittites, this man, who was 
one of Gath, would not act unfaithfully towards him, but resolved, 




486 child’s commentator. 

with his soldiers, to live or die with him. Great numbers of the 
people, too, went weeping along with him, for it was a very affect- 
ing thing to see an old king driven from his throne by the unpro- 
voked rebellion of his own son. 

Zadok the priest, and Abiathar, and all the Levites, also, took 
away the ark, but David advised them to carry it back, being 
persuaded that if his conduct now pleased God, God would yet 
restore him to the spot where it was kept, and which he was 
accustomed to love. 

And now the procession moved forward up the Mount of Olives, 
near Jerusalem ; and David and all the people covered their heads 
as mourners, and wept ; and David walked with bare feet, in token 
of his humiliation. 

And one told David that Ahithophel was among the conspira- 
tors, and David prayed, “ 0 Lord, turn the counsel of Ahithophel 
into foolishness meaning, that God would make him appear 
like a foolish adviser. 

When David reached the top of the mount, he worshipped God 
and prayed, and here he was overtaken by Hushai, the Archite, 
who “ came to meet him with his coat rent, and earth upon his 
head.” 

Now Hushai was no warrior, but a wise, prudent man, and so 
he would have been of no use to David as a defence. But ha told 
him how he might serve him. And he advised him to go to 
Absalom, and tell him he would be his counsellor as he had been 
his father’s; and so he might get at the counsel which the wise 
Ahithophel might give, and either inform David of it or persuade 
Absalom not to follow it. Moreover, the priests, Zadok and 
Abiathar, would help him ; these had two sons, Ahimaaz and 
Jonathan, and if Hushai told them what was doing, they could 
sencl their sons secretly with the news; and this was a good 
scheme, as no one would suspect what was going on, as he might 
have religious matters to engage him w r ith the priests. “ So 
Hushai, David’s friend, came into the city, and Absalom came into 
Jerusalem,” and both met together at the same time. 




THE SIXTEENTH CHAPTER OF II. SAMUEL. 

Ziba’s base conduct to Mephibosheth. — Shimei curses Divid 
Hushai deceives Absalom. 

u And the king said, And where is thy master’s son ? And Ziba 
said unto the king, Behold, he abideth at Jerusalem: for he 
said, To-day shall the house of Israel restore me the kingdom 
of my father.” — Ver. 3. 


“ When David was a little past the top” of the Mount of 
Olives, which we read of his ascending, “ Ziba, the servant of Me- 
phibosheth, met him with a couple of asses saddled, and upon 
i them two hundred loaves of bread,” or more properly, thin cakes, 

[/ made without yeast, for such was the shape, and also the kind of 

| ancient Jewish bread, — “and an hundred bunches of raisins,” 
3 which were usually dried in the sun, “ and an hundred of summer 
fruits,” probably cucumbers and water-melons, — which are about 
J udea exceedingly fine in flavour, and much in use to quench the 
thirst occasioned by the great heat, — “ and a bottle of wine,” 
which was a goat’s skin full, that being the bottle of the East, and 
not one of glass, like our bottles. This bottle would hold a great 
deal ; a mere quart of wine would have been of little use in so 
great a company. 

Then the king asked Ziba what he meant by his load, who 
replied, that the asses were for the king’s own family to ride on, 
great personages being used to ride upon the beautiful Eastern 
asses. And the bread and fruit were to refresh the young men 
who were the king’s guards and soldiers. 

Then David inquired after Ziba’s master’s son, — meaning 
Mephibosheth, tin? son of Saul, — and he perhaps, thought he had 
sent him this present, but could not account for his not coming 
along with it. Then Ziba told David a most wicked falsehood — 
“Behold, he abideth at Jerusalem : for he said, To-day shall the 
house of Israel restore me the kingdom of my father meaning 
that Mephibosheth expected now that David had fled, that he 




488 


child’s commentator. 


should recover the throne of his father Saul. Now, there was 
no probability of this, for Absalom would have prevented it, if 
David could not have returned ; and this story of the humble, 
quiet, and grateful Mephibosheth was made up by Ziba, that he 
might provoke David to take away all his lands and give them to 
him. I am sorry to say, that, in this instance, David was too 
easily imposed upon ; he took Ziba at his word, and supposing 
that Mephibosheth was guilty of treachery and aspired to his 
throne, he pronounced his estates to be forfeited, and said to Ziba, 
“Behold, thine are all that pertaineth to Mephibosheth ; that is, 
I give you all Mephibosheth’s lands. And the vile man flattered 
the king, and hoped that he should yet receive further proofs of 
his favour. 

David now approached a place in the tribe of Benjamin, called 

* Bahurim ; and a man, whose name was Shimei, and who was re- 

I lated to Saul, came forth from the city and cursed David. And 

II such was his bitterness against him, that he threw stones at him, 
! i and even at his warriors who were about him, to show how much 



* ** ' 

he despised them. Who, in his senses, would angrily throw 



stones, if he only thought that this was the crime of wicked Shimei, 
who cursed David 1 And Shimei called David ill names — a 
bloody man and a son of Belial, and accused him of shedding the 
blood of Saul and his sons, though they had fallen by the hands 
of the Philistines — and of the murder of Ish-bosheth he was 
not only innocent, but had executed justice on the murderers. 
“ Innocency is no defence against malice and falsehood,” but God 
is a defence to the innocent, and so he was to David. David’s ser- 
vants would have taken instant vengeance, and have cut offShimei’s 
head, but David bore his insults with patience, since he believed 
that the Lord had permitted him to add to his affliction for wise 
and useful purposes. 

While these things happened, Absalom and Hushai met together 
at Jerusalem, and Ahithophel also. As soon as Hushai, David’s 
friend, saw Absalom, he cried out, “God save the king ! God save 
the king !” He, however, meant king David, for Absalom was no 
king. Then Absalom, supposing he meant himself, reproached 
him with deserting David, and said, “Is this thy kindness to thy 



child’s commentator. 


489 


friend?” Hushai again answered very cautiously, still thinking 
about David being his rightful king, “ Nay, but whom the Lord, 
and this people, and all the men of Israel choose, his will I be, 
and with him will I abide and if Absalom were king, why 
should he scruple to serve him ? Now, he knew that the Lord 
had chosen David, and that Absalom was not king, and therefore 
he did not intend to serve him. There was a great deal of cun 
ning in all this, which is not a praiseworthy thing ; but God over 
ruled it all for the good of David. 

Then Ahithophel advised Absalom to pay a visit t# David’s 
concubines, or inferior sort of wives, which he had left behind to 
keep his palace ; and as no man durst to look at them but the 
king, — which is still the custom in the East, — his going to see 
them was at once a declaration that he had become king ; and 
he took care that he should make his visit as public as possible, 
that all Israel should know it. This was the subtle advice of 
Ahithophel, who was a man of such deep counsel, that men consi- 
dered him almost as good as if they had inquired of the priest by 
means of the oracle of God, that is, the Ephod. 


THE SEVENTEENTH CHAPTER OF II. SAMUEL. 

AhithopheVs wicked counsel defeated by Hushai. 

“ And Hushai said unto Absalom, The counsel that Ahithophel 
hath given is not good at this time.” — Ver. 7. 


The only impediment to Absalom’s complete possession of the 
throne was the life of his father, for, as long as he lived, there 
would be many who would follow him. So the wicked Ahitho- 
phel proposed that he should be allowed to choose a thousand of 
the bravest men of each tribe, making twelve thousand, and 
he would pursue David, and coming up with him while he was 
weary and weak-handed,— or guarded by a few men only, — he 
would put him to flight, and then pursue him only, and kill him. 
David being slain, all the people would then acknowledge Absa- 



£90 child’s commentator. 


lom as their king ; for he said, “ The man whom thou seekest” — 
David — “is as if all returned only secure or kill him, and it 
will insure the return of all the rest. 

If Absalom had ordered Ahithophel’s head to be struck off for 
proposing to murder his father, and so good a father too, he would 
but have done justice according to the law of God ; but this wicked 
son was even “pleased” with the plan. However, God put it into 
his heart to ask Hushai’s opinion about it. Hushai, you know, 
was David’s friend, whom he had sent to defeat the counsel of 
Ahithophel, and he did so most wisely. “Thou knowest,” said 
he, “ thy father and his men, that they be mighty men,” men of 
great bravery, “ and they be chafed,” or fretful and enraged in 
their minds, “ as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field for 
the she-bear, when she has any of her whelps hurt, is a most furi- 
ous creature, and will then violently attack any person or animal 
she may meet. Then he proceeded to say, that David was “a 
man of war,” who would not lodge with the people in the camp, 
but in some pit, where he might surprise his enemy, or, at least, 
escape being surprised. And if it should so happen that he 
should fall unawares upon any of Absalom’s men, and they should 
flee, it would strike a panic into the whole, and the report would 
soon spread abroad, that Absalom’s army was defeated. Then 
he advised that “ all Israel,” that is, the fighting men, “ from Dan 
to Beer-sheba,” that is, from one end of the country to the other 
— where these places stood — should be gathered together to march 
against David, and then they might come upon his army like 
dew upon the ground, the drops of which are exceedingly 
numerous, and so they would easily slay the whole. Or. if they 
had taken shelter in any city, they could soon storm it with 
their rope-ladders for scaling walls, and being so numerous, 
they would demolish it and them, as easily as if they drew 
the whole city into the water with which its walls might be sur- 
rounded. 

God disposed Absalom’s mind to prefer this counsel to that of 
Ahithophel. Had he followed the advice of that wicked man. 
David would most likely have been slain, for it was all true that 
he said. But, by following that of Hushai, time was gained for 






child’s commentator. 491 


David to prepare himself, and for Hushai to send him word about 
Absalom’s intended attack. 

While these deliberations were taking place, Hushai informed 
Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, — who also were faithful to their 
king, — and he advised them to send directly to David, and urge 
him to get out of the plain where he was, lest, if Absalom should 
yet follow the advice of Ahithophel, he might be suddenly over- 
thrown, and to avoid the overwhelming army which, on his plan, 
would be sent against him. 

The priests then sent to their sons, Jonathan and Ahimaaz, who 
remained at a spot out of the city, that they might be ready to 
take any message to David ; and that no suspicion might fall on 
them, they sent a wench, or girl, to the young men ; and they 
went and told David what Hushai. wanted him to know. 

The young men had, however, a narrow escape by the way, for i 
they were seen by a lad conversing with the girl ; and this lad I 

being, probably, one of Absalom’s spies, went directly and told I 

him. The young men hurried forward and went to a man’s house \ 

in Bahurim — the place where Shimei had cursed David. Here jjj 

there was a well in the court ; and — the man and his w ife being, if 

probably, loyally attached to David, — the messengers were con- II 

cealed in it : most likely, the well was dry, so that the messengers \| 

would not be hurt by going down into it, and then “ the woman 
took and spread a covering over the well’s mouth, and spread 
ground corn,” or corn in the bran, “ thereon, and the thing was 
not known.” 

Absalom soon sent servants in search of the men, whose persons 
and names seem to have been well known, and they got informa- 
tion about their going to the house at Bahurim ; but the woman 
denied that they were there, and said, that they were gone over the 
water, or river Jordan; and so they returned to Jerusalem. 1 
cannot justify the woman for the way in which she saved the 
young men ; she might have devised such an answer as would 
have prevented her telling a lie. 

David immediately followed Hushai’s advice, and passing the 
fords of Jordan in the night, he and his men all got safely over. 

Ahithophel was so much mortified that Hushai’s counsel had 





492 child’s commentator. 

been followed rather than his, that he went to his house at Giloh, 
and there, having “ put his house in order,” or settled his affairs, 
he hanged himself. He also foresaw that David would now con- 
quer and return to Jerusalem, and then he must suffer the death 
of a traitor ; and he would rather become a self-murderer than fall 
into the hands of justice. 

“ Then David came to Mahanaim,” a city on the other side of 
Jordan, in the tribe of Gad. “ And Absalom passed over Jordan, 
he and all the men of Israel with him,” and he pitched in the 
land of Gilead, and gave the command of his troops to Amasa. 

In the midst of his distress, David met with several friends, — 
Shobi, a younger brother of the royal family of the Ammonites, 
who, it is supposed, disapproved of the indignity which his 
brother Hanun had done to David’s ambassadors ; Machir, the 
same kind-hearted man who had pitied and taken care of Mephi- 
i bosheth, w T hen David found him out and supported him ; and 
Barzillai, of whom we shall further read. These, as David had 
fled in haste without any comforts, brought beds for the weary to 
•jjS rest, and basins, and earthen vessels to put their liquors in, and 
food of various sorts used in the East. We ought always to 
show pity to those who are in distress. 


THE EIGHTEENTH CHAPTER OF II. SAMUEL. 

Absalom's Defeat and Death . 

‘ The people of Israel were slain before the servants of David, and 
there was there a great slaughter that day of twenty thousand 
men.” — Ver. 7. 


David now divided his army into companies of thousands and 
hundreds, and set captains over them. Then he divided the whole 
into three parts, and appointed three generals to command them — 
Joab, Abishai, Joab’s brother, and lttai the Gittite ; and he in- 
tended himself to be commander-in-chief over these, but the 
people would not let him go, lest he should be killed, which would 



TOMBS OF TUB KINGS. 



TOMB OF ABSALOM 




✓ 



THE DEATH OP ABSALOM 





have tnrown them all into confusion and made Absalom king, 
who would have been avenged on them for defending David ; and 
they advised David rather to stay in the city of Mahanaim, and 
send them succour by forwarding provisions and recruits. 

And now the army marched to meet Absalom, but as it pass- 
ed through the gate of the city, David commanded the generals 
to “deal gently” with Absalom if he should fall into their hands, 
and rather take him alive than hurt or kill him. He was de- 
lighted to think of killing his father, when it was proposed to 
him, but this fond father would not hurt a hair of the head of his 
rebellious son ; he knew that he was not fit to die, and hoped that 
he might be saved alive, that so he might repent and seek mercy, 
and God might forgive all his sins. 

“ So the people went out into the field against Israel ; and the 
battle was in the wood of Ephraim.” This was not a wood in 
I the tribe of Ephraim, but in the land of Gilead across the river 
Jordan, and was probably called the wood of Ephraim, because, 
g in the time of Jephthah, forty two thousand Ephraimites were 
5 slain near it by the men of Gilead. 

Absalom’s army was soon put to flight, and twenty thousand of 
his soldiers perished. In their flight, their ranks became broken, 
and they ran over the country in all directions ; but vast numbers 
tried to escape through the wood, where they were easily overtaken, 
by being caught in thickets ; and some might fall into pits, and 
it is supposed that some were devoured by wild beasts ; so that 
“ the wood devoured more people that day than the sword devour- 
ed,” for there were more people slain in it than in the open field. 

Absalom fled among the rest; in passing through the wood, he 
met with some of David’s troops, and in hastening from them on 
his mule, either his fine hair was caught in the branches of an oak 
tree, or, as is rather believed, his neck was stuck fast in a forked 
branch, and the mule going forward, left him hanging alive. 

One of David’s soldiers saw this accident, and ran and told 
J oab ; who asked the man why he did not kill Absalom ; and told 
him that if he had done so, he would have given him ten shekels 
of silver, about twenty-four shillings of our money, and a girdle, 
which was a mark of great honour and promotion. But the man 
19 




496 child’s comments tor. 


told Joab he would not have killed Absalom for a thousand she- 
kels of silver, after David had given so strict a charge to spare 
his life, for he should have exposed his own life to danger for dis- 
obedience, and even Joab would then have condemned him. 



So Joab went himself, taking three darts with him, and thrust 
them into Absalom ; and ten young men who attended Joab 
thrust darts into him also, so that they were sure he was dead. 

Having slain David’s wicked son, the chief of the rebellion, 
Joab ordered a trumpet to be blown, to call back his men, that 
they might pursue the rebel army no longer, as they would now 
submit, and he did not want to shed any more blood. 

Then they took Absalom’s body and cast it “ into a great pit in 
the wood, and laid a very great heap of stones upon him,” to be 
a monument of his villany, and to signify that he ought to have 
been stoned as a rebellious son. (See Deut. xxi. 20, 21.) 

Absalom little expected to die such a death, and to be buried 





CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


497 


in such a manner. In his pride he had erected a very handsome 
monument for the reception of his body when he should die, in a 
place called the King’s Dale, or valley — the valley of Jehosha- 
hat; for he said, “ I have no son to keep my name in remem- 
rance,” though he had had three sons, but all were dead — “ and 
he called the pillar after his own name,” and it was still called 
“ Absalom’s place,” when this history was written. 

Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok, was now with Joab, and he begged 
him to let him run and inform David of the victory ; but as Joab 
did not wish him to carry news which would displease the king, 
as Absalom’s death would, he told him not to go. Then he or- 
dered Cushi, an Ethiopian, — or black, as some suppose, — to 
hasten with the tidings. After Cushi was gone, Ahimaaz still 
urged Joab to let him go, though he had “ no tidings ready,” but 
what Cushi had ; then he allowed him, and he outrun Cushi, as 
Cushi took a hilly road, and Ahimaaz a flat one. 

David was anxiously waiting for news, and so he sat between 
| the two gates of the city ; one gate being within another, between 
i two walls that surrounded the place. And the watchman mount- 
ed the tower over the wall, and looked to see if any messenger 
was coming. And when he saw a man running, he called out to 
the king; and the king said, if the man was alone he brought 
news as a messenger, for if he had had others with him, it would 
have been a sign that they were part of his army put to flight. 
Presently the watchman called to the porter below, who kept 
the outward gate, that there w'as another man running, and that 
the foremost looked like Ahimaaz. And David was pleased, for 
he said that Ahimaaz was a good man, and would not run to tell 
him bad news. 

To encourage David’s heart, Ahimaaz called out, as soon as 
he could be heard, “ All is well;” meaning that the victory w'as 
gained. And then he approached the king, and bowed himself 
before him, and blessed God for the victory. 

Poor David was, however, alarmed for his wicked son, and his 
first question was, “ Is the young man Absalom safe V ’ Ahimaaz 
evaded the question, and David waited for Cushi. 

Cush, saluted David in a similar manner to Ahimaaz, and the 







498 


child’s commentator. 


king asked the same question about Absalom. And Cushi replied, 
“ The enemies of my lord the king, and all that rise against thee 
to do thee hurt, be as that young man is meaning, in a delicate 
way, that he was dead, which he wished were the case with all 
David’s enemies ; as they rebelled against a king whom God had 
especially set up. And the king ran up to the watchman’s cham- 
ber, and there he wept alone : but cried aloud in great distress, 
“ O my son Absalom ! my son, my son Absalom ! would God 1 
had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son !” If David was 
pained to think in how unprepared a state Absalom was hurried 
into eternity, he was right in yielding to his bitter grief; but if 
he only felt distressed as a kind father losing his rebellious yet 
beloved son, he was to be blamed ; because, instead of being 
thankful to God for his deliverance, he seemed as if he was an- 
gry at what had happened, and as if he would rather have died 
himself than have survived his son. 


1 


THE NINETEENTH CHAPTER OF II. BAMUEL. 


David's Return to Jerusalem . 


“So the king returned and came to Jordan, and Judah came to 
Gilgal, to go to meet the king, to conduct the king over Jor- 
dan.” — Yer. 15. 


The news reached Joab that David was much grieved for the 
loss of Absalom ; the victory was therefore turned into mourning 
by the people, instead of being an occasion of joy, which was usual 
at such times. And instead of marching triumphantly into the 
city like conquerors, the people stole in like cowards, lest they 
should displease the king : for David would not see his generals, 
and covered his face with his mantle, as mourners did, and still 
cried, “ O my son Absalom ! O Absalom, my son, my son !” 

Joab, at last, got leave to see David, and he spoke very boldly 
to him, and told him how ill he had used the people that had 
done him so much service, and saved his life, and the lives of 



CHILD’S COMMENTATOR. 


499 


all the other parts of his family, all of whom might have perished* 
had Absalom gained the victory. And he urged him to go and 
show himself to the people, and speak kindly to them, instead 
of lamenting what they had done, or his army would all desert 
him. 

So the king went and sat in the gate, which was a public place 
of the city, where many people were constantly passing ; and there 
they assembled and congratulated him on saving his kingdom. 

Then the tribes of Israel began to talk about what David had 
done for them in saving them from the Philistines, and that some- 
thing should be done to convey him back to Jerusalem. And 
David sent to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, to urge them to 
arouse the tribe of Judah, who were yet negligent to join in 
restoring him ; for “the speech of all Israel,” or the invitations of 
the people, had been sent to him to return to his palace and city. 

He also reminded that tribe, by a message, that they were his 
nearest brethren, he being of the same tribe ; and as for Amasa, 
who had commanded Absalom’s army, he would not only pardon 
him, but make him commander instead of Joab ; indeed, he must 
have disliked him for having killed his son, and he had displeased 
him by his conduct on several other occasions. 

So all Judah directly joined the king, and he went back to 
Jerusalem. 

Just as David had passed over Jordan, he was met by Shimei, 
who had cursed him in his flight ; and also Ziba, the servant of 
Mephibosheth, who probably hoped to gain the king’s favour 
before he should learn that he had done a very wicked thing to 
his innocent master, in falsely accusing him as a traitor to David. 
Shimei had a thousand men of Benjamin with him, from which it 
is thought that he was an officer or commander. And he fell 
down before the king — owned that he had sinned — and asked for 
pardon. 

Abishai, however, advised the king to put him to death. But 
David reproved him sharply and wisely; for if he had begun by 
executing this offender, as soon as he had crossed the river, all the 
soldiers of Absalom would have taken the alarm, and a new rebel 
lion must have followed. So David told Abishai that he would 


500 



child’s commentator. 

do as he pleased, and would let him know that he was king ovei 
Israel, and Shimei should not die. 

Next came Mephibosheth, who had been so grieved at David’s 
misfortunes, that, since he had left Jerusalem, he had “neither 
dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes 
and these being all tokens of deep mourning, showed that he had 
not concealed his sorrow at the loss of his friend. 

Then the king asked Mephibosheth why he had not gone with 
him, as a friend, when he quitted Jerusalem. And Mephibosheth 
told him that he had ordered Ziba to saddle an ass for the pur- 
pose, as he was lame and could not walk ; but Ziba had deceived 
him and gone alone to the king, and told a great falsehood 
against him. This the king might now learn, and see from the 
state of his dress, which was plainly a mourning of long continu- 
ance, and not just assumed. As for Ziba, he left the king to do 
what was good in his own eyes respecting him, either to pardon 
or punish him ; for he who had been saved from death by his 
kindness could not presume to tell him what to do, or to ask 
another favour. 

To this David replied, “ Why speakest thou any more of thy 
matters or of what I have done for thee ; forget all that, and 
“ thou and Ziba divide the land” as before. Ziba deserved to be 
punished, but David also showed him mercy ; for he might per- 
haps have had friends who would have stirred up some fresh 
strife, and David now longed for peace and rest. Mephibosheth 
was very well pleased, and was willing that Ziba might even have 
all, as his grateful heart was satisfied in seeing the king once 
more restored to the throne. 

Among those who accompanied David over Jordan, was Barzil- 
lai, of whose kindness to David, in bringing him beds, basins, and 
food, we read before ; and in addition to that, he had “ provided the 
king of sustenance while he lay at Mahanaim.” David, who had 
a very grateful heart, wished much that Barzillai would go with 
him to Jerusalem, and he would feed him there ; not that Barzil- 
lai wanted food, but David wanted him, in return for his kind- 
ness, to be a constant guest at the royal table. Barzillai, however, 
refused, on account of his age ; for being scarcely able to know 


child’s commentator. 501 

good from evil, from increasing weakness of body and mind, h« 
could be of no use as a privy counsellor ; and having lost his 
taste, rich food would be no treat ; and being deaf, the king’s 
music could yield him no pleasure, and so he could only be a 
burden to the court, neither receiving nor giving delight. Be- 
sides, he thought the reward was much more than he deserved 
for what he had done for the king. 

Barzillai therefore asked leave to return home, but as the 
king was inclined to show him kindness, he begged him to 
take his son Chimham with him in his stead. So the king agreed 
to take Chimham with him, and “ kissed Barzillai, and blessed 
him ; and he returned to his own place.” 

Unfortunately, David’s return was not quite in peace. The 
men of Israel were jealous that the men of Judah should have 
escorted the king without letting them know, and the men of 
Judah were very angry at the words of the ten tribes of Israel. 
We shall see, by and by, what mischief comes from jealousy and 
quarrelling. 


THE TWENTIETH CHAPTER OF II. SAMUEL. 

Sheba's Rebellion and Death . 

“ And there happened to be there a man of Belial, whose name 
was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite ; and he blew a 
trumpet and said, We have no part in David, neither have we 
inheritance in the son of Jesse.” — Ver. 1. 

“ A man of Belial,” that is, a lawless wicked man, whose name 
was Sheba, took advantage of the quarrel between Israel and 
Judah, and advised the men of Israel to go home to their tents 
and not guard David to Jerusalem : and they followed his ad- 
vice, the men of Judah only remaining with David. 

In the meantime, David having returned to Jerusalem, as it 
has been a custom in the East, and is indeed still, not to allow 
any man even to look upon a married lady, the king would no 




502 child’s commentator. 

more see his concubines whom Absalom had visited, but shut 
them up for life. 

Then David ordered Amasa, his new general-in-chief, to collect 
an army in three days, and go after Sheba. But Amasa, not 
making as much despatch as he wished, he feared that Sheba 
would get a strong force and make head against him ; and secure 
himself in a fortress. So he desired Abishai to take his body 
guards and pursue him. 

The troops were to assemble at the great stone in Gibeon, about 
five miles from Jerusalem. Here Amasa went before them as their 
general. Joab was along with his brother Abishai, and he had a 
most wicked design in his head. He girt his coat about him that 
that might not hang in his way, and girt his belt upon his coat, 
that his sword might be the readier for him ; he then put his sword 
in a sheath too big for it, that whenever he pleased, it might, upon 
a little shake, fall out, as it were by accident ; and so he might take 
it into his hand unsuspected, as if he were going to return it into 
the scabbard, when he designed to sheath it in the bowels of 
Amasa. And Joab went up to Amasa and inquired after his 
health, — and, according to the Eastern custom, still used among the 
Turks and Arabs, — he took Amasa by the beard with his right 
hand, to kiss him. But Amasa never observed that Joab held his 
sword in his left hand, which he had just let fall and picked up ; 
“ so he smote” Amasa “ therewith in the fifth rib, and shed out 
his bowels to the ground.” In this way God permitted Amasa 
to be punished, for rebelling against David, the Lord’s anointed ; 
but the conduct of Joab was of a piece with his character ; he was 
a cruel, deceitful, and overbearing man, and in the end he met 
with a just reward for his crimes. 

After Amasa was slain, Joab placed a soldier by his body, to let 
the people know as they passed, that though Amasa was slain, 
he, Joab, had taken the command of the army for David, so those 
who were for David might go after him. The people were, how- 
ever, so horror-struck at the sight of their general, wallowing in 
his blood in the high way, that the men removed him, and cover- 
ed the body over with a cloth that it might not be seen, and then 
all the people went forward in pursuit of Sheba. 


503 



child’s commentator. 


Sheba, as David had apprehended, had taken refuge in a strong 
place called Abel. Here Joab and Abner cast up a very high 
bank, on which to place war-engines to break down the walls, 
which were surrounded by a trench. 

While Joab’s soldiers were battering the wall, a wise woman- 
one renowned for giving prudent advice in difficulties — called 
from the walls with a loud voice, and asked to see Joab. Then 
she told him that Abel was a place well known for prudent peo- 
ple, and so, had he asked for a conversation with some of them 
before he began to beat it down, he might easily have settled the 
matter. Moreover, she asked him if he would destroy a city 
which was a mother in Israel, and was the protector of several 
other places, as a mother of her children ; and also a part of the 
land which was the Lord’s inheritance, not polluted by the hea- 
then, but devoted to the service of God. 

Joab replied, it was very far from his wishes to destroy the 
city, but there was a traitor there, and they must deliver him up. 
The woman agreed that his head should be cut off and thrown 
over the wall, and then told the citizens of the treaty she had 
made. The order was executed, and Joab sounded a retreat 
with the trumpet, and then returned to Jerusalem. 

After David’s return to his throne, Joab still remained com- 
mander-in-chief, Amasa being killed. Benaiah also commanded 
the body guard. Adoram was appointed to the new office of 
treasurer of the taxes. J ehoshaphat was still recorder. Sheva 
was yet scribe, and Zadok and Abiathar priests. Ira was also 
one of David’s counsellors. 


THE TWENTY-FIRST CHAPTER OF II. SAMUEL. 

Saul’s Sons executed. 

“ And they fell all seven together, and were put to death in the 
days of harvest; in the first days in the beginning of barley 
harvest.” — Ver. 9. 

You remember that the Gibeonites deceived the Israelites in the 
days of Joshua, by appearing among them with clouted or patched 


504 


child’s commentator. 


up shoes, and old clothes, and mouldy bread, as if they had worn 
out their dress with travelling, and as if their food had become 
stale owing to the distance of the way ; and so the Israelites mis- 
took them for a people afar off, instead of inhabitants of Canaan, 
whom they were commanded to destroy. As the supposed inha- 
bitants of a distant nation inclined to be at peace with them, the 
Israelites made a covenant not to hurt them ; and then they found 
out that they were not from a distance, but Amorites, whom they 
ought to have slain for their wickedness. However, they w r ould 
not break their oath, having sworn not to injure them ; but they 
made them servants, “ hewers of wood, and drawers of water un- 
to all the congregation.” 

Now it happened in the days of David, that there was a famine 
for three years. David remarked this judgment, and was anxious 
to know for what particular sin God afflicted the people. Having 
“ inquired of the Lord” by the Ephod, he found that the cove- 
nant with the Gibeonites had been broken : for Saul, in pretended 
zeal for the glory of God, had tried to destroy these people as a 
remnant of the Canaanites, and some of them had actually been 
slain. To break a solemn and deliberate oath is a very wicked 
thing, and as the nation seemed to have joined in it, — and espe- 
cially Saul’s relatives, — and no atonement had been made, this 
punishment was inflicted till the sin was atoned. 

So the king asked the Gibeonites what would satisfy them for 
the lives of their fellow-countrymen ; and they replied, the lives 
of seven of Saul’s sons. 

Then David took two sons of Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah ; and 
five sons, so called, of Michal, but they were the sons of Adriel, 
who married her sister Merab ; and therefore, as her sister was 
dead, she had brought them up. And these young men were all 
hanged in the hill of Gibeah, “before the Lord;” or to make 
atonement in the sight of the Lord. As God does not delight in 
human blood for sacrifice, and as sin could be atoned for by 
other means, the execution of these poor young men seems to 
have been a severe and unnecessary measure ; but as David in- 
quired of the Lord, we may believe that he was directed what to 
do, and that he did not rashly sacrifice innocent lives. Perhaps 




the^e sons of Saul had themselves been among the murderers of 
the unfortunate Gibeonites, and so justice overtook them at last. 

Rizpah was deeply afflicted to lose her two sons in so painful a 
manner ; she pitched a tent of sackcloth near their gibbets, and, 
no doubt, being aided by her friends and servants, she protected 
the dead bodies from ravenous birds and beasts of prey. 

David, having no malicious feeling towards the deceased young 
men. — having let justice take its course, — had their bodies taken 
down, and together with the remains of Saul and Jonathan, which 
had been in the possession of the men of Jabesh-gilead, he had 
them honourably buried in the sepulchre of Kish, who was the 
father of Saul. 

After this solemn execution, God was entreated for the land, 
and it yielded its usual harvest. 

The Philistines still annoyed David ; and he went out to battle 
in his old age, but he was now weak, and his life had nearly been 1 
taken by Ishbi-benob — supposed to have been a son of Goliath — 
who seeing David fighting feebly, went up to him to slay him, 
but David being quickly aided by Abishai, the giant was slain. 
This narrow escape of David made the people of Israel resolve J 
that he should no more go out to battle, lest their glory should 
be extinguished by his death. 

Several more battles afterwards took place between the Israel- 
ites and the Philistines, and several more giants were slain ; one 
was called Saph ; another was brother to Goliath ; and another 
was of such unusual bulk, that he had more fingers and toes than 
other people, and of such insolence, that though he had seen the 
fall of the other giants, vet he defied Israel. 




* 


506 CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 

THE TWENTY-SECOND CHAPTER OF II. 8AMUEL. 

David's Psalm of Thanksgiving . 

“ And David spake unto the Lord the words of this song, in the 
day that the Lord had delivered him out of the hand of all his 
enemies, and out of the hand of Saul.” — Ver. 1. 

This chapter is a psalm of David, written by him to sing praises 
to God for delivering him out of the hands of his enemies. W e 
should always be grateful to those who do us acts of kindness, 
but much more should we be grateful to God, who is constantly 
doing for us such acts of kindness as none besides can do. 

You will find some words in this chapter which seem to be 
strangely used, but which, with a little attention, you will soon 
understand. They are what are called figures of speech, and are 
names of things common in the world — which David and other 
sacred writers of poetry gave to God himself, because those 
things very strikingly helped to describe certain qualities which 
belong to him. 

I should have told you that the psalms are properly poetry, 
but being turned from Hebrew into English, they look more like 
prose in our language. Figures of speech may be used in prose, 
but in poetry they are of very common use. 

Here God is called “ a rock,” “ a fortress,” “ the God of my 
rock,” “ the horn of my salvation,” “ my high tower,” “ my re- 
fuge,” as well as “ my deliverer,” and “ my saviour,” the two 
last of which you will readily understand without any more ex- 
planation. 

A rock is a place of strength and security ; hence, you recol- 
lect reading, that when the Benjamites were nearly destroyed by 
the vengeance of the other tribes, “ six hundred men turned and 
fled to the wilderness, unto the rock Rimmon, and abode in the 
rock Rimmon four months ;” so God is as a hiding-place, and a 
place of defence, to those that put their trust in him in time of 
danger, — he is their “ rock.” 

He is also called their “ fortress." Now the difference between 
the rock and the fortress is, that the rock is, as people often say, 





as nature made it ; that is, as God made it, without any art of 
man : but, the fortress is intended to strengthen the defence of the 
rock by being added to it, or to supply the place of a rock, by 
being built up where there is no rock. It is made of earth and 
stones, and in various forms, so as to make it difficult to approach 
or destroy it, and, of course, difficult to hurt those who have taken 
shelter in it. This, therefore, is another figure by which David 
would express his entire confidence in God as his protector. 

But because one or two strong means of defence are not enough 
to show how secure they are who trust in God, David adds still 
more — to show that what means of defence soever we have got, 
God is as that defence ; and God is as all our defences put toge- 
ther, if we look to him for help in trouble — he is, says David, 
“my high tower,” whence I can look down in safety upon my 
enemy, and where his weapons shall not harm me ; and he is my 
refuge, where I may hide and he cannot find me; and he is “the 
God of my rock,” or of my strength, who supplies me with 
strength, which is as a rock; and he is “the horn of my salva- 
tion ;” through whose strength I can push back my enenfies, as a 
strong creature pushes his enemies back with his horns. David’s 
enemies were the wicked Philistines and others ; but we have 
wicked enemies in those who would tempt us to sin ; and it must 
be by God’s strength that we oppose them, trusting in him, like 
David, as in “the horn of our salvation ;” so will God be our de- 
liverer and our saviour. 

David further says, “ When the waves of death compassed me, 
the floods of ungodly men made me afraid ; the sorrows of hell 
compassed me about ; the snares of death prevented me ; in my 
distress I called upon the Lord, and cried to my God ; and he did 
hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his 
ears.” This means, when death seemed ready to swallow him up 
— as the stormy waves often swallow up the poor sailor ; and 
when wicked men surrounded him — like floods of water rushing 
upon him on all sides, from which it seemed impossible to escape ; 
when, owing to his very great fears, his mind was in a state of 
torture, which seemed to be as violent as even the wicked suffer 
in hell ; and when he seemed like the poor helpless bird caught 


child’s commentator. 


508 

in the fowler’s snare, with no hope of escaping from his foes — no 
sooner did he cry to God than God heard him, from heaven, 
which is called his temple, where he dwells, and is ever adored 
by his angels and saints ; his bitter cry was not in vain, but 
reached his ears ; not that God has ears as we have, but as our 
ears are the channels through which cries pass and attract our 
notice, so, when God attends to earnest prayers, they are said to 
enter into his ears. 

David is thought here, while he spake of himself, also to have 
had his mind under a divine direction to show the sufferings and 
deliverance which, a long time after, should happen to Jesus 
Christ, whose reputed father, and whose mother, were both de- 
scended from David, and so Jesus was called “ the Son of David 
Christ suffered the severest tortures — the pangs of death, and the 
wrath of God, for our sins, and was, at the same time, surround- 
ed by the insulting scribes, priests, and people. 

To show what terror God struck into David’s enemies, how he 
made them afraid, and how he sets himself against the wicked 
who hurt or would hurt those who fear him, David now proceeds 
to use more figures, and very grand they are. 

After he had prayed, God fought for him : “ Then the earth 
shook and trembled : the foundations of heaven moved and shook 
because he was wroth;” that is, God swallowed up his enemies 
as with an earthquake, when the earth shakes and trembles, and 
when the awful thunder often seems to shake heaven itself, 
though in reality that is not touched. 

David then says, “ There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, 
and fire out of his mouth devoured ; coals were kindled by it.” 
Remember this ( is poetry, and this kind of language is all in w hat 
we call figures. God has not nostrils like us, nor is it usual for 
a great smoke to proceed from men’s nostrils, but it is often usual 
for a volcano or burning mountain to send forth clouds of smoke 
as an earthquake, and to shoot out great volleys of fire : David 
thought of this at the time he wrote these words. Volcanoes have 
destroyed whole towns, and so God, when he appeared to save 
David, swept away his enemies as w r ith the fire of a volcano. 

“ He bowed the heavens also and came down : and darkness 


child’s commentator. 


509 


was under his feet.” But, God is in all places at all times 
how then could he come down ? And did he bring heaven down 
like a cloud upon the earth ? No, you must still remember this is 
used like the former language, ana means that, as we speed to a 
person we love, to save him from danger, so God came down, as 
it were to David’s help, and his approach was awful as a thick 
darkness, while his coming was hidden from his enemies, though 
its effects were felt — they could not see God in his clouds, though 
they felt his power in their punishment. 

And God came quickly too, as we should run to help a beloved 
friend ; “ he rode upon a cherub and did fly : and he was seen 
upon the wings of the wind.” He came as if upon some swift 
angel, or as if he was borne downward by a rapid wind, which is 
one of the most speedy things in nature — so ready and speedy 
was God’s help in the time of need. 

“ And he made darkness pavilions round about him, dark wa- 
ters and thick clouds of the skies.” As the dark cloud full of 
water would hide any object, so God was unseen by David’s 
foes, though his faith, like an eye to his mind, saw all that God 
was doing to save him. 

Amidst this darkness there was a brightness which David 
could behold, as the Israelites saw the bright side of that cloudy 
pillar that went before them in the wilderness, while it was all 
dark to their enemies. “Through the brightness before him 
were coals of fire kindled;” or his wrath was made to come upon 
the ungodly, like the fire and brimstone upon Sodom and Gomor- 
rah. As men used to shoot out arrows in ancient warfare, so 
God sent out his judgments, like arrows, and scattered David’s 
foes ; and as the lightnings often dart forth and destroy man and 
beast, so he sent his lightning, and discomfited, or routed them. 
Moreover, as the Red Sea was dried up to save Israel from the 
Egyptians, and “ the channels of the sea appeared,” and they es- 
caped, so God drew David out of the great waters of trouble that 
threatened to drown him. 

Now, I think, you will pretty well understand this Psalm. We 
have reached the eighteenth verse, and from that to the twentieth, 
I hope you will want no particular help. There you will find 


510 


child’s commentator. 


David comparing his trouble to darkness, because darkness is not 
pleasant ; but he calls God his “ lamp,” because as a lamp at night 
removes darkness, so, in the night of sorrow, God makes his peo- 
ple happy. Then he tells of some escapes he had in cutting his 
way through his foes, and springing over some wall that seemed 
to stop his passage ; or his language may mean, that he had es- 
caped as wonderfully as he who should cut his way through a 
body of soldiers who designed to kill him, or, should leap away 
from them over a high wall, where they could not pursue him. 

In the thirty-first verse, David calls God his “ buckler,” which 
was a kind of shield ; then he says, there is “ no rock,” — that is, 
no defence like him. If he had been strong to overcome his ene- 
mies, he it was who gave him strength — if he had been swift to 
flee from them, he it was who had made his feet “ like hind’s feet,” 
or to seem as swift as the nimble stag. If he had been skilful in 
the art of war, all his wisdom came from God, for he could not 
have defeated his and Israel’s foes, had not God taught his hands 
to war : and if he was secure like one' raised on a strong rock, it 
was God had set him on his <l high places.” 

Thus he was enabled to conquer his enemies, as though their 
necks were under his feet, and to overcome them as men trample 
over the mire in the street. Thus did David give all the glory 
of his deliverance to God. 

In like manner did Christ obtain the victory over sin, death, 
and hell, and if we trust in him we shall at last be “ more than 
conquerors through him that hath loved us.” 

“ Hosanna to King David's son, 

Who reigns on a superior throne ! 

We bless the prince of heavenly birth, 

Who brings salvation down to earth.” 



THE TWENTY-THIRD CHAPTER OF II. SAMUEL. 

David's Heroes. 

“ These be the names of the mighty men whom David had.”— 

Ver. 8. 





In this chapter we have the last words of David*; in which, 
among other things, he describes the character of a good king, 
who must be just — rule in the fear of God — and be a blessing to 
his people, as are the cheering light of the morning, and the herb- 
age springing up from the earth for the use of man and beast. 

Then follows a list of David’s most famous soldiers, and the 
exploits which they did, which you may read from the eighth 
verse to the end. Adino slew eight hundred at one time with'his 
spear — Eleazar defied* the Philistines, as Goliath had Israel, and, 
while the other men of Israel fled, he stood his ground alone, and 
fought them, till his hand was so cramped that his sword was, as 
it were, fastened in it. “ And the Lord wrought a great victory 
that day, and the people,” who had fled, 'when they saw the vic- 
tory he had gained, “ returned after him, only to spoil” them 
that were slain, and to strip them of what they had. 

Shammah met with a party of Philistines who were out plun- 
dering the fields, and he stood in the midst of a field of lentiles — 
a sort of pea— “ and defended it, and slew the Philistines ; and 
the Lord wrought a great victory :” for these exploits could not 
have been performed, had not God bestowed upon the men won- 
derful strength and courage to meet the enemies of Israel. 

Three of David’s heroes who attended him in his troubles, when 
he hid in the cave of Adullam, also performed a very great exploit. 
It being hot weather, David was very thirsty ; and as there was a 
very nice well of water near the gate of Bethlehem, where the 
Philistines then were, he longed for some, and said, “ Oh, that 
one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, 
which is by the gate. And the three mighty men brake through 
the host of the Philistines” that were encamped before Bethlehem, 








I 


drew water from the well, and brought it to David. David, how 
ever, would not drink of it when they had got it for him ; it was 
kind in them to go when they heard him expressing his wish for 
the water ; but as they had risked their lives for it, he poured it out 
before the Lord. He thought water obtained on such terms was 
too dear for him to drink. We admire the love of these soldiers 
to their prince, but what was it to the Jove of Jesus Christ, who 
left heaven for us, took our nature to die for us, and then bled 
and gave up his precious life on the cross, that we might drink of 
the w'ater of life, and partake of those joys which shall cheer the 
soul as water now relieves the thirst, and that for ever and ever. 

Abishai was another brave man, and slew three hundred men 
at once. And Benaiah slew two Moabites that were as strong 
and bold as lions. He also slew a lion in a pit, in a time of 
snow, when lions are most fierce and hungry ; and he slew an 
Egyptian, “ a goodly man, large and tall and though he had 
a spear in his hand, he met him with nothing but a staff, and 
overcame him. 

Do not let us mistake here ; this history is not told us to teach 
us to fight, but only to show us what those men could do when 
engaged in a good cause ; and when God helped them against the 
wicked people who were the enemies of Israel. 



THE TWENTY-FOURTH CHAPTER OF II. SAMUEL. 


David's Pride in Numbering his People, 

“ For the king said to Joab the captain of the host, which was 
with him, Go now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan 
even to Beer-sheba, and number all the people, that I may 
know the number of the people.” — Ver. 2. 


Again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, foi 
Satan moved David to number Israel and Judah, as we read in 
the twenty-first chapter of the first of Chronicles. Probably he 




thought cf making some conquests which God had not command- 
ed, and wished to go in his strength, reckoning on the number ot 
his troops, while he neither consulted the Ephod, nor trusted, as 
he ought, in God. 

Even the wicked Joab thought that David was doing a wrong 
thing, and tried to dissuade him from it, but he would have his 
own way. So after the land had been gone through in nine 
months and twenty days, “Joab gave up the sum of the number 
of the people to the king ; and there were in Israel eight hundred 
thousand valiant men that drew the sword ; and the men of Ju- 
dah were five hundred thousand men.” 

When David had got the number of the people, his heart smote 
him that he had done what was wrong. He had perhaps felt proud 
to think what a number of soldiers he could collect, and what con- 
quests he could make with them. But now he owns that in what 
he had done he had sinned. He had not asked from God direc- 
tion, and he had acted like one who wished to do without him. 
And he earnestly prayed, “ I beseech thee, O Lord, take away 
f the iniquity of thy servant, for I have done very foolishly.” 

So God sent the prophet Gad to David, and told him he must 
choose one of three things : seven years of famine, or to flee for 
three months before his enemies, or to have three days of pesti- 
lence in the land. David desired to fall into the hands of God 
rather than into those of his enemies ; and God sent a pestilence 
for three days, which swept away seventy thousand of his men ! 

David suffered by this, for it was a dreadful lessening of his 
strength, and so God humbled his pride. But let us not suppose 
that God destroyed the innocent on this occasion. It seems most 
likely that, owing to their conquests, Israel had become proud 
also ; and so God, who hates pride, punished them in this manner. 

God employed a particular divine messenger to produce this 
pestilence, and as he was about to destroy Jerusalem, he stopped 
him. “ And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing-place of 
Araunah the Jebusite.” And when David saw the angel, he again 
confessed his own sin, but pleaded that the people, who were as 
sheep under his care, were not guilty of his sin ; and entreated 
that they might not be punished, but that the punishment might 




514 child’s commentator. 


fall upon him. God, however, knew that they had sinned as well 
as David. 

Gad now advised David to build an altar to the Lord in the 
threshing-floor. And David went to Araunah to buy the thresh- 
ing-floor, to build the altar that the plague might be stayed. 

And Araunah offered to give him oxen, and the threshing in- 
struments for wood for the sacrifice. But David would not use 
them till they were paid for, for the sacrifice would otherwise 
have been Araunah’s, and not David’s. 

So David bought the threshing-floor and the oxen, and built 
“ an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt-offerings, and peace- 
offerings ; so the Lord was entreated for the land, and the plague 
was stayed from Israel.” 




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CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


518 

have no pleasure in them.” You may think it long before you 
will be uld, but if you live to the age of David you will wonder, 
on looking back, to think how soon your life has passed away. 
Then give the best of your days to the service of God, and be 
sure that your old age, though it will make you feeble in body, 
will find you happy in mind. 

At this time David’s counsellors recommended David a young 
wife,* thinking that her company would make David more cheer- 
ful. And he married Abishag, a Shunammite : “ But the king 
knew her not” — he took no delight in her, but she was to him as 
a stranger. 

You have heard what bad sons Amnon and Absalom turned 
out, and now here is another son of David, who was not less 
wicked, “ Adonijah, the son of Haggith.” He was a spoiled child, 
“ and his father had not displeased him at any time, in saying, 
Why hast thou done so 1” He had never found fault with him 
when he did anything that was wrong ; and so, says good Mr. 
Henry, “ He in return made a fool of his father : because he was 
old and confined to his bed, he thought no notice was to be taken 
of him, and therefore exalted himself, and said, I will be king. 
Children that are indulged learn to be proud and ambitious, and 
that is the ruin of a great many young people.” 

In order to effect his designs, Adonijah “ prepared him chariots 
and horsemen, and fifty men to run before these were to make 
him appear grand, to wait upon him, and to fight for him. He 
also gained over Joab, David’s famous general, and Abiathar, the 
high-priest. But there were three chief men who were faithful 
to David, and these Adonijah could not get to use him ill ; these 
were Zadok, the priest, and Benaiah, a brave soldier, and Nathan, 
the prophet, together with some others, and especially David’s 
mighty men. 

And Adonijah “ slew sheep, and oxen, and fat cattle, to make 
a feast of them at a place called En-rogel, and there he enticed 
all the king’s sons, excepting Solomon, and many of the king’s 
servants.” 

Nathan, the prophet, lost no time in letting Solomon’s mother, 
Bath-sheba, know what was doing ; for, like all ladies in the East, 


child's commentator. 


519 


she lived quite in retirement, and was ignorant of Adonijah’s con- 
duct. He advised her to go directly to the king, and tell him all 
about it — or Solomon, to whom David intended to give the crown, 
would certainty lose it, and he and his mother would both perish ; 
for cruel deeds have often been done, particularly in the East, 
by those who have got their crowns in an unfair way, lest the 
right heirs should rise against them, and obtain their rights. 

So Bath-sheba went to the king, and told him all that happen- 
ed, and reminded him that he had said that Solomon should reign, 
and not Adonijah, and begged him at once to have his successor 
proclaimed. And while she was speaking, Nathan contrived to 
go in to the king also, and so to urge him the more forcibly, to 
make no delay in so important a business. 

Then David told Bath-sheba, that he would certainly not break 
his word, which every good man ought to keep, and, therefore, 
what he had promised should instantly be done. 

And he ordered Zadok, and Nathan, and Benaiah, to take his 
servants with them, and cause Solomon to ride upon his mule, — 
which would otherwise have been treason, — and to go to Gihon, 
a place where there were wells or waters, where many people 
would be assembled; — there the priest and the prophet were to 
anoint Solomon king, by pouring oil upon his head according to 
custom, and to blow the trumpet, and say, “ God save King Sol- 
omon.” 

So they did as David told them ; “ and all the people said, 
God save*King Solomon. And all the people came up after him, 
and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so 
that the earth rent with the sound of them.” 

The news soon came to Adonijah that Solomon was proclaim- 
ed king, for he had but just done feasting, when Joab heard the 
sound of the trumpet, and asked what was the cause of it ; then 
Jonathan, the son of Abiathar the priest, arrived with the tidings, 
and mentioned, as the last act of Solomon’s coming to the crown, 
that he sat upon his father’s throne. 

All Adonijah’s guests were now in a terrible fright, and ran 
away to their homes. As for this wicked son, he feared that 
Solomon would do to him, as he would have done to Solomon, had 




520 


CHILD 8 COMMENTATOR. 


he got the throne ; and, lest he should be instantly killed, he fled 
away to the tabernacle, and laid hold on the horns of the altar, 
which was always a place of refuge, it being thought a great crime 
to kill any one there, — nor did he move from his place till Solomon 
gave his solemn word that his life should not be taken away. 
However, though Solomon sent for him and saved him for that 
time, yet he was to behave better in future or take the conse- 
quences. “If,” said Solomon, “ he will show himself a worthy 
man,” and never cause any more disturbance, “ there shall not an 
hair of him fall to the earth ; but if wickedness shall be found in 
him,” and he does any more such bad deeds, “ he shall die.” 

Then Solomon told him to go home ; meaning, that he was to 
have nothing to do at court, and that in future, if he would save 
himself, he must keep himself quiet. 


THE 8ECOND CHAPTER OF I. KINGS. 

The Death of David . — The Execution of Adonijah , of Joab , and 
of Shimei. 

“ So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of 
David.”— Ver. 10. 


David, finding himself near death, gave Solomon the best advice 
he could about managing his kingdom, for he was yet but young, 
— about twenty years of age; and as David knew he was wise 
and good, he hoped he would continue so, and, though a child in 
years, be a man in behaviour. Especially he told him to walk 
in God’s ways, and keep his commandments, and then he might 
be sure that God would bless him, and establish his throne. 

But there were several things which David had left undone, 
and he commanded Solomon not to fail to do them. 

Joab had been a bad man, and had not only ill-used David as 
the Lord’s anointed, and disobeyed his commands in slaying Ab- 
salom, but he had cruelly and deceitfully murdered Abner and 
Amasa, as we have before read — “ and shed the blood of war in 



child’s commentator. 521 


peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about 
his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet he stabbed them 
while he pretended to embrace them, so that their blood gushed 
out on his girdle, and fell into his shoes. Now David ought to 
have punished Joab before, but his kingdom was often disturbed, 
and he perhaps feared the making of fresh enemies : he, however, 
did not forget that he as a king, must do justice, and now, with 
his throne, he transfers his commands to Solomon to execute this 
wicked man. “ Do, therefore, according to thy wisdom, and let 
not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace.” 

Shimei had also been a base disturber, and had cursed David 
when he was in trouble, but, as he had promised to spare his life, 
he had kept his word ; however, his son must guard against him 
as a dangerous subject, and he would find occasion to visit him at 
last with the punishment of death. 

While David thus remembered to do justice, he also thought of 
mercy, and was not ungrateful to Barzillai, the Gileadite, who had 
been very kind to him in his need ; and he ordered Solomon to 
treat Barzillai’s sons with great kindness in return, and to let M 

them be provided for, and have the honour of eating at his table. \ ' 

“ So David slept with his fathers,” for death is but a long 
sleep for the body, which is to rise again, as we do in the morn- 
ing, after having been as if dead during the night. And David 
44 was buried in the city of David. And the days that David 
reigned over Israel were forty years : seven years reigned he in 
Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem.” 

David had not long been dead when Adonijah again plotted 
against his brother Solomon, and very cunningly went to Bath- 
sheba, Solomon’s mother, and asked her to beg of Solomon to let 
him marry Abishag, his father David’s last wife. Now this re- 
quest was altogether bad, and it proved that he wanted to make 
himself more great, and so to increase his power. So Solomon 
ordered him to be executed as a traitor, and Benaiah slew him. 
Abiathar, the priest, was also probably in this plot, or Solomon 
would not, as he did, have ordered him instantly to be banished 
to Anathoth ; and in thrusting out Abiathar from the priestly 
office, he fulfilled the threatening of God against the sons of Eli 
20 



child's commentator. 


522 

God had told Eli that the priesthood should depart from his 
house, and Abiathar, the last of his house, was now, for his crimes, 
made to bring the threatening to pass. So will all the threaten- 
ings of God against the wicked certainly come to pass at last. 

But, before we go on further, pray stop to observe what a good 
son Solomon was to his mother. When she went in to plead for 
Adonijah, as he requested, Solomon, though a king, did not for- 
get that she was his mother : he rose up to her, bowed himself to 
her, and set her at hrs right hand, which was the place of the 
greatest honour. Mr. Henry, whom we have just mentioned, in 
admiring this good son, observes : “ Children, not only when 
grown up, but when grown great, must give honour to their pa- 
rents, and carry themselves dutifully and respectfully towards 
them. 4 Despise not thy mother when she is old.’ ” 

But, perhaps, you will observe, that when Bath-sheba spoke to 
Solomon, he promised that he would not say 44 nay” to her re- 
quest, and then directly denied it. It must, however, be sup- 
posed, that he never thought of a request from his mother which 
would be likely to deprive him both of his crown and his life, 
and her of her life also ; and it is likely that when she saw what 
a dangerous thing she had asked, she released Solomon from his 
word, or he thought himself released, as the reqiiest was so un- 
reasonable and wicked. 

One learned writer, — whose thoughts on this subject I have 
read, — is of opinion that Adonijah was cruelly used by Solomon, 
and that he had no wicked design in asking to marry Abishag ; 
and he is very angry with those who think the contrary ; but 
Solomon was a very good young man, and very wise, and he 
would not have ordered Adonijah to be slain without a just rea- 
son ; his also punishing the others, whom he thought parties in 
the treason, shows that he had good cause to act as he did. 

The alarm of Joab, who now fled for safety to the horns of the 
altar, showed, too, that he had good reason to dread Solomon’s 
vengeance ; and, though this was a very sacred place, yet, so great 
a criminal was this man, that the king ordered him not to be al- 
lowed to shelter himself even there, and 44 Benaiah, the son of 
J ehoiada, went up, and fell upon him, and slew him ; and he was 



=9R£ 



child’s COkMENTATOil. 523 

♦ 

buried in his own house in the wilderness.” Thus was this wick 
ed man punished at last. 

The next criminal that we read of in this chapter Was Shimei. 

Solomon, having been warned about him by his father, sent 
for him, and told him to go and live at Jerusalem, but, if he ever 
ventured to leave that place, he would punish him with death. 
Shimei, who perhaps felt that he deserved death then, for his con- 
duct towards the Lord’s anointed, David, was very well pleased 
with this order, which, having sworn to observe, he went to Je- 
rusalem and lived there for three years. At the end of that time, 
two of his servants “ ran away unto Achish, son of Maachah, king 
of Gath,” and Shimei^ either forgetting his oath in his eagerness 
to get back his servants, or thinking himself secure after so long 
a time, rashly ventured to ride off to Achish, and returned with 
his servants. Solomon, being informed of this, sent for Shimei, 
told him of his wickedness in breaking a sacred oath, of his dis- 
obedience to his royal command, of his past behaviour to his fa- 
ther, which merited death, and of the justice of his sentence, and 
then ordered Benaiah to slay him. 

Whether Benaiah executed the guilty persons we have read of 
with his own hands, or whether he was merely the officer who 
was to see that they were to be put to death, we do not exactly 
know ; however, it is not absolutely necessary to understand by 
his falling upon the criminals and slaying them that he did so 
himself; he might be said to do it, if, as Solomon’s officer of jus- 
tice, he took care to see it done. 

Thus, having punished these wicked and troublesome charac- 
ters, “the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.” 

Benaiah was now made chief captain in the room of Joab, and 
Zadok priest in the room of Abiathar. All things were peaceful 
at home, and no surrounding enemy dared to attack the wise and 
prosperous Solomon. 




524 child’s commentator. 


THE THIRD CHAPTER OF I. KINGS. 

Solomon's Marriage to Pharaoh's Daughter — His Striking Dream 
and Prayer for Wisdom — His wonderful Judgment. 

“ And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David 
his father.” — Ver. 3. 

Solomon now chose a wife, who was no less a person than the 
daughter of Pharaoh, the then powerful king of Egypt, a country 
near Canaan. This, you know, was a very long time after the 
reign of the Pharaoh who lived when Israel left Egypt. It was 
four hundred and seventy-seven years after — but still a Pharaoh 
reigned, for this was a common name given to the kings of Egypt, 
as Czar is now to the emperors of Russia. The Egyptians were 

! heathen, but it is said by the Jews that Pharaoh’s daughter em- 
braced the Jewish religion when Solomon married her, for it 
id would have been a wicked thing in him, and contrary to the com- 
\J mand of God, to have married a heathen. 

At this time the Jews had no temple, and they worshipped on 
the high places or hills, among which was Gibeon, where the ta- 
bernacle was, and here Solomon went and offered a thousand 
burnt-offerings. 

While Solomon was at Gibeon, he had a remarkable dream, and 
God appeared to him in the dream, and said to him, “ Ask what 
I shall give thee V' And Solomon said, “ I am but a little child,” 
meaning that he knew but very little, and asked God to give him 
wisdom. God was pleased with Solomon’s humility, for he is 
always pleased with the humble : and he told Solomon that as he 
had asked neither long life, nor riches, nor to conquer his ene- 
mies, but had asked only for wisdom, he would give him “ a wise 
and an understanding heart” beyond every one beside ; indeed, 
there never was nor ever again should be so wise a man in the 
world. He should also have what he had not asked — he would 
make him more rich and honourable than all other kings, and, if 
he did but keep his commandments, he would also add to these 
enjoyments that of a good old age. 




child’s commentator. 525 

This dream was one of those extraordinary ones by which God 
did at that time, and long after, sometimes tell his mind to men ; 
and Solomon had a persuasion that it was more than a common 
dream, and that it would all turn out to be true. So he went tc 
J erusalem, and there, in token of his gratitude to God, he “ offer- 
ed up burnt-offerings,” and made a feast to all his servants, 
which was probably out of the peace-offerings he had presented, 
as was often usual. 

Solomon’s wisdom was now soon tried. Two women, that were 
harlots, or inn-keepers, lived in one house, and both of them had 
little infants. It happened that one of them smothered her poor 
little infant, by lying on it while she was asleep. So, what did 
she do, but went to the bed of the other woman, and changed the 
dead child for the living one that she found lying in the bosom of 
. its mother ; and as the other mother was fast asleep, she knew 

i nothing about it till she awoke in the morning. When she awoke 

I she discovered how she had been cheated, and went to Solomon 

i § to make her complaint. Each, in his presence, declared the child 

! 5 belonged to her, and words ran very high. “ The other woman 

I said, Nay ; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. 
And this said, No ; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my 
son. Thus they spake before the king.” 

This must have puzzled any other judge ; for how was it pos- 
sible to know which to believe ? However, the king soon settled 
the matter. “ Bring me a sword,” said he ; “ and they brought a 
sword before the king. And the king said, Divide the living 
child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the 
other.” 

You are perhaps ready to cry out, Why, surely Solomon would 
not be so cruel ! No, he did not intend to be cruel ; he knew what 
would be likely to happen to help him to judge aright. As soon 
as the real mother supposed that her child was to be cut to pieces, 
rather than it should be killed, she was willing to give it up, and 
she instantly cried out, “ O my lord, give her the living child, and 
in no wise slay it.” But the other said, “ Let it be neither mine 
nor thine, but divide it ” which no real mother would have said, 
for kind mothers love their children too well to be so cruel. 




i 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


526 

Solomon then directly saw which was the mother, and he said, 
“ Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it ; she is the 
mother thereof.” 

You may suppose how gratefblly she took, and how warmly 
she pressed, her infant to her bosom ; how her tears were turned 
into smiles, and her heaviness into joy. The people, too, were 
all delighted to see the kind mother recovering her dear infant. 
“ And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had 
judged, and they feared,” that is, honoured, “ the king — for they 
saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.” 


THE FOURTH CHAPTER OF I. KINGS. 

Solomon's Prosperity and Honour. 

4 ‘ And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto 
the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt ; 
they brought presents and served Solomon all the days of their 
life.” — Ver. 21. 


Solomon was now king over all Israel, which his father was 
not when he began to reign, for he was then only king over Ju- 
dah ; and, as we shall find by and by, Solomon’s son was not, 
for his kingdom was divided. 

In this chapter we find a list of his chief officers ; besides 
which, he had twelve officers, one for each month in the year, 
who took care to provide food for his great household ; and one 
of these, “ the son of Abinadab,” — who was probably a very in- 
dustrious and diligent officer, — was honoured by Solomon’s giv- 
ing him his own daughter Tappath, as his wife ; so that he be- 
came the king’s son-in-law. 

And now “Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is 
by the sea in multitude they had no war and no pestilence to 
lessen their large numbers, and still kept increasing. And so God 
blessed them, and they were “ eating and drinking, and making 



CHILD 8 COMMENTATOR. 


527 


merry,” cheerfully enjoying the good things which God kindly 
oestowed upon them. 

And though Solomon was only king of Judah and Israel, yet 
he received tribute from many other kingdoms around him, and 
in this way might be said to reign over them also ; for, the princes 
and people of those kingdoms “ brought presents, and served him 
all the days of their life.” 

Think how numerous Solomon’s household and attendants must 
have been, when his provision for one day only “ was thirty mea- 
sures of fine flour,” each measure being more than seventy-five 
gallons ; “ and three-score measures of meal ; ten fat oxen ; and 
twenty oxen out of the pastures,” which were not fatted ; “ and 
an hundred sheep, besides harts, and roe-bucks, and fallow-deer, 
and fatted fowl.” So that they had plenty of beef from the oxen, 
mutton from the sheep, and venison from the harts, bucks, and 
deer. All this quantity of daily provision being put together, it 
has been reckoned that, at least nearly fifty thousand persons 
must have been fed daily at the palace of the Israelitish king ! 
Most probably, among these were included his guards, each of 
whom received a ration , or soldier’s portion, from the king’s store. 

Every man now dwelt safely “ under his vine, and under his 
fig-tree,” which grew around the 
dwellings to afford shelter from 
the sun, and which were princi- 
pal trees in the land of Judah ; 
and “ from Dan even to Beer-she- 
ba,” — the two extreme parts of 
the land, — the people enjoyed this 
blessing all the days of Solo- 
mon. 

“ And Solomon had forty 
thousand stalls of horses for his 
chariots, and twelve thousand 
horsemen.” Besides these, he had 
also swift dromedaries, that might 
go post for him, and all these were constantly well supplied with 
barley and straw. 





528 CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 

“ God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding, exceeding 
much, and largeness of heart,” that is, a capacity of mind to know 
every thing ; so that what he knew seemed countless, “ even as the 
sand that is on the sea-shore.” “ And Solomon’s wisdom excell- 
ed the wisdom of all the children of the East country,” or people 
of the East countries — so called, just as the Israelites were called 
the children of Israel : and it also excelled “ all the wisdom of 
Egypt.” He must, then, have been wise indeed, for the Arabi- 
ans and Persians, who were among the children of the East, were 
famous for wisdom ; and Egypt was so renowned for it, that phi- 
losophers, or men esteemed already wise, even went there, from 
other countries, to get more wise, — for Egypt was called the mo- 
ther of the arts and sciences ; all clever kinds of inventions having 
had their origin there. “ And he spake three thousand proverbs : 
and his songs were a thousand and five.” Proverbs are wise 
sayings ; many of which are to be found in the book so called, 
and written by him ; and, besides these, he wrote a number of 
poems. “ And he spake of trees, from the cedar-tree that is in 
Lebanon,” which is a large and noble tree, one of the finest in the 
world, “ even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall,” the 
lowest and least herb. So that he understood trees and plants of 
all sorts and sizes between the greatest and the least ; or, in other 
words, he was wonderfully skilled in what is now called botany. 
“ He spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and 
of fishes.” He understood the nature of all sorts of animals in 
the earth, air, and sea, and discoursed of their names, kinds, qua- 
lities, and use, with the greatest ease ; so that he was a complete 
master of what is called natural history. And this is the more 
wonderful, because even the wisest men, who now study these 
things with constant attention, can only take some one part of 
them in order to be master of it — one fixing on insects, of which 
the numbers are astonishing; another on birds; another on 
beasts ; another on fish ; and so for the rest. 

No wonder that “ there came of all people, to hear the wisdom 
of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his 
wisdom.” 


child’s commentator. 


529 


THE FIFTH CHAPTER OF I. KINGS. 

Preparation for Building the Temple. 

“ And, behold, I purpose to build an house unto the name of the 
Lord my God, as the Lord spake unto David my father, say- 
ing, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, 
he shall build an house unto my name.” — Ver. 5. 

As soon as Solomon was fixed upon his throne, Hiram, king of 
Tyre, sent ambassadors to him, to congratulate him on his peace 
and prosperity. Solomon took the opportunity of sending a letter 
back by the ambassadors, to inform Hiram that he intended to 
build a temple for the worship of God, which the troublous times 
of his father’s reign had prevented from being done ; but now, all 
the enemies of Israel having been put under the soles of his 
father’s feet — that is, in other words, being conquered as one 
trampled upon, and there being “ rest on every side,” he would 
not delay to complete so grand a design. But he wanted some 
help from Hiram. There were very fine cedar trees, a most du- 
rable wood for building, which grew on that part of Lebanon be- 
longing to Hiram, and he would be glad if he would have them 
cut down for his use ; and, moreover, that he would let him have 
some of his men to work on them ; for the Sidonians, who were 
a part of his subjects, were very skilful in hewing timber. 

So Hiram, who was very friendly towards Solomon, promised 
to do as he wished ; and this was a very important point gained 
towards building the temple, for the Jews were mostly employed 
in agriculture — that is, ploughing, sowing, and reaping the fruits 
of the earth, and knew little about the art of fine building, or 
even of hewing down trees, which, to be done well, should be 
done at a particular time, and in a certain way, and then they 
should undergo some preparations to make them fit for use. 

Hiram having kept his word, Solomon paid him for his trees 
and workmen’s wages, by giving him what was needed in his 
country, where, though the people were skilled in growing and 


530 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


working timber, they did not so well understand how to grow the 
fruits of the earth. “ And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thou, 
sand measures of wheat for food to his household, and twenty 
measures of pure oil ; thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by 
year.” These measures are not of the same sort as ours, but 
have been carefully reckoned, and amount to twelve millions 
nine hundred and sixty thousand pounds Of wheat, and twenty- 
one thousand six hundred pounds of oil ; so that Hiram was very 
well paid, and this pay was given every year, as long as the tem- 
ple was in building, and some think afterwards continued as long 
as Hiram lived. 

Besides the help of Hiram’s men, Solomon employed thirty 
thousand Israelites, ten thousand of whom worked every month 
in turns ; so that each one was one month in a quarter of a year 
labouring for Solomon, and two months at home looking after his 
own grounds and family. This was very kind and considerate, 
and showed that he was not a tyrant of a king, who would have 
allowed them no time for themselves : and he employed Adoni- 
ram “ over the levy,” that is, over those men who, being got to- 
gether by the king’s orders, were called “ a levy and Adoniram 
had to see that they did their duty, and rested in their turns. 

So Solomon had “ threescore and ten,” that is, seventy thou- 
sand men, that “ bare burdens,” or carried stones from the moun- 
tains out of which they were dug ; and “ eighty thousand hewers 
in the mountains,” that dug the stones out of the quarries, ^nd 
made them into proper shapes ; and he employed three thousand 
three hundred officers, to overlook them, and see that none were 
careless or idle. 

“ And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, 
and costly stones,” such as fine marble, “ and hewed stones to lay 
the foundation of the house.” “ So they prepared timber and 
stones to build the house,” or temple. 




CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


K/ 


THE SIXTH CHAPTER OF I. KINGS. 

The Building of the Temple. 

“So Solomon built the house and finished it.” — Ver. 14. 


“ In the fourth year o£ Solomon’s reign he commenced the 
building of the temple.” The house which king Solomon built 
for the Lord was thirty-six yards long, twelve wide, and eighteen 
high, but to this were added courts and colonnades where the 
people might assemble to perform their devotions, and assist at 
the sacrifices, without being exposed to the open air. So that the 
whole put together was a very grand object. 

There was one very remarkable thing in the building of this 
temple : “ The house, when it was in building, was built of stone 
made ready before it was brought thither ; so that there was nei- 
ther hammer nor axe, nor any tool of iron heard in the house 
while it was in building.” The joints were all made by the clever 
workmen, God blessing them particularly in this work with more 
than usual skill, so that each joint fitted exactly into the one for 
which it was made, and required nothing more than a wooden mallet, 
at most, to fit it in its place. This temple is mentioned in Scripture, 
as a type or likeness of heaven, — that is, it was a place for serving 
God, and where God particularly blessed his people, and so is 
heaven ; and this curious fact, about the stones all fitting without 
any more noise and labour, had its meaning, and may remind us 
that all those who are to be pillars in the temple of God above, 
or to remain there fixed for ever, must be first made fit for it ; 
and this they are by the Holy Spirit of God making them holy, 
for nothing that is defiled or wicked can enter there. 

If you read the chapter you will, perhaps, find a few things 
which you cannot understand. We are told that “ the cedar of 
the house within was carved with knops and open flowers.” What 
are knops ? They are said to have been ornaments of the shape 
of an egg. 


532 


child’s commentator. 


And then we read of the preparing of “the oracle.” The 
oracle was a place where God, in a wonderful way, spoke his 
mind and will, as one man speaks to another. 

You must also observe that there was a great quantity of gold 
used in the building : “ So Solomon overlaid the house within 
with pure gold : and he made a partition by the chains of gold 
before the oracle ; and he overlaid it with gold. And the whole 
house he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the house : 
also the whole altar that was by the oracle, he overlaid with 
gold.” “ And the floor of the house he overlaid with gold within 
and without.” 

Solomon also made two cherubims of olive tree, a tree that 
grows commonly in that part of the world where Judea was. 
These cherubims were tall and large figures, with widely-extend- 
ed wings, and they stood in the oracle, and are supposed to have 
been emblems of angels, who always wait God’s commands, and, 
like winged creatures, are swift in their motions to do his will. 
These, too, were overlaid with gold. The whole of this golden 
work may teach us — as gold is the purest of metals — that the 
place where God will be to give his blessing, and the persons 
who acceptably serve him, must all be pure and holy. 

This temple was begun in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign, 
and finished in the eleventh ; “ so was he seven years in building 
it.” 

A curious calculation has been made respecting the immense 
amount which this temple cost, which may give you some idea 
of its value; — the amount was about four billions, six hundred 
and ninety -six millions, four hundred and ninety-eight thousand, 
four hundred and thirty-five dollars; and the weight, forty-sir 
thousand tons. Suppose that the above amount were to be 
removed from one place to another in wagons, every wagon to 
be laden with four tons, it would require eleven thousand five 
hundred wagons to contain it. 

If every wagon were drawn by four. horses, allowing the space 
of twenty yards to every wagon and horses, the line would reach 
nearly one hundred and thirty-one miles. 

If the amount of the expenditure were coined into haif-eagles, 



child’s commentator. 533 

or pieces of five dollars value, and they were placed on a plana 
dose to each other, allowing one inch to every half-eagle, they 
would extend fourteen thousand eight hundred and twenty- 
four miles. 


THE SEVENTH CHAPTER OF I. KINGS. 

Solomon's Houses — The Ornaments and Utensils for the Temple. 

“ And Solomon made all the vessels that pertained to the house 
of the Lord.” — Ver. 48. 

After Solomon had built a house for God, and served him first, 

! he then erected one for himself ; but he did not make that haste 
to get it completed which he did to complete the temple, for it 
took thirteen years in building. “ He built also the house of the 
forest of Lebanon,” which, from the account given of it in this 
I chapter, was larger than the temple ; and this was necessary, as 
only the priests went into the temple to perform the services, 
whereas into this went, not only Solomon’s family, but his cour- 
I tiers, and nobles, and all foreign ambassadors, and whoever had 
any business with him, which required various rooms to receive 
them in. This house took its name from its being built of wood 
of the cedars of Lebanon, and is thought by some to have been 
Solomon’s summer house, where he could get cool and refreshing 
air when the weather was exceedingly hot. 

“ Solomon made also an house for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom 
he had taken to wife and some think that Solomon’s dwelling- 
house, the house of the forest of Lebanon, and that of Pharaoh’s 
daughter, all stood close to each other, — the house of Lebanon 
being that where Solomon went to administer justice, if any of 
his subjects had been wronged or ill-treated. 

“ And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre 
not the king, but a man of the same name, who is more particu- 
larly described in the next verse : “ He was a widow’s son of the 
tribe of Naphtali, his father was a man of Tyre his mother was, 



534 



child’s commentator. 



I 


therefore, a Jewess, but his father a Tyrian, though some think 
not a native Tyrian, but a Jew that resided there, and so got the 
name. He was “ a worker in brass ;” or, as we should have call- 
ed him, a coppersmith : “ and he was filled with wisdom and un- 
derstanding, and cunning to work all works in brass •” that is, 
he was very skilful. “ And he came to king Solomon, and wrought 
all his work.” 

“ He cast two pillars of brass,” eighteen cubits, or ten yards 
high, and more than six yards round. And he made chapiters to 
set upon them ; these were large ovals made something like a 
crown, to set upon the tops of the pillars. And he made nets of 
chequer-work, that is, work very much varied in its forms — and 
these are said to have been ornaments like thick branches of 
trees : “ and wreaths of chain- work.” like fringes, as some think, 
twisting round the chapiters. He also ornamented the chapiters 
with “lily- work,” or ornaments made in the shape of lilies. To 
these ornaments he also added two hundred in the shape of pome- 
granates. You remember, ornaments like this Eastern fruit 
adorned the dress of the high priest. “ And he set up the pillars 
at the porch of the temple,” and called the right pillar “ Jachin,” 
and the left “ Boaz ;” or rather, Solomon gave them their names. 
These names had meanings of importance : “Jachin” means, he 
will establish; and “Boaz” means, in strength; signifying, that 
as long as God was worshipped there in purity, the building 
should be established in strength. 

Then he made “ a molten sea,” the size of which you may guess, 
by remembering the length of a man’s arm from the elbow to the 
end of his fingers, which you have before observed, was that of a 
cubit. And this sea was ten such lengths across it. This was a 
large vessel, which, on account of the great quantity of water it 
held, was called “ a sea,” for it was capable of holding about three 
thousand baths, as the measures were then called: that is, about 
four hundred and fifty of our hogsheads, which you know are very 
large casks of themselves : what then must a vessel be which 
would hold four hundred and fifty times what they could contain ! 
You will read in the chapter, that “ under the brim of it round 
about, there were knops compassing it, ten in a cubit.” These 



child’s commentator. 535 

knops were a sort of ornament so called, something like the shape 
of an egg, and were, perhaps, cocks out of which the water was 
turned, and of these there were six hundred ! This sea, as it 



might well be called, stood upon twelve oxen, cast in the same 
way, with their faces all turned towards the outside, and their 
mouths, also, might be used as spouts or cocks to let out the wa- 
ter. This vessel was as strong as it was large, for it was “ a 
hand-breadth thick,” so that a man’s hand might be laid flat upon 
the edge any where round it. And it contained two thousand 
baths, so that, though it would hold more, it was not necessary * 
to fill it, which might have caused inconvenience. This vessel 
was for the priests to wash themselves, and, as most of the things 
of the temple had a hidden meaning in them, and referred to spi- 
ritual blessings which should be enjoyed from Jesus Christ, it is 
considered as an emblem of him who is called, among other 
names, il the Fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness,” be- 
cause his blood, believed in as shed for sinners, cleanses the soul 
from guilt and sin, as water cleanses the body. 

“ And he made ten bases of brass,” or, as we should call them, 
pedestals, or stands, with wheels to them ; and he made “ ten la- 
vers,” or basins, “ of brass, each laver holding forty baths,” or 
about seven gallons, and being four cubits across : and he set the 


536 


child’s commentator. 


lavers on the bases or stands, which, having wheels, could be 
easily moved about as they were wanted : these were used for 
the priests to wash their burnt-offerings in. The bases were fine- 
ly ornamented with cherubims, lions, and palm-trees, and all 
were cast in one mould, and exactly of the same size. 

Hiram also made other smaller lavers, which, it is said, were 
used to put the ashes of the sacrifices into, and shovels, with 
which the ashes were collected together, and basins, to receive 
the blood of the sacrifices and sprinkle it. 

All these things were made of bright brass, and were cast in 
the clay ground, or in the plain of Jordan, where a large mould 
was made for them, and the melted brass poured in. 

Beside the things already named, Solomon made — that is, or- 
dered to be made — an altar of gold, on which incense was to be 
offered ; and a table of gold, on which to set the shew-bread ; 
and ten gold candlesticks, ornamented with flowers, having each 
seven lamps, making seventy lights, and tongs of gold, which 
were used to take the wicks out of the oil, and put into the 
lamps ; and bowls to keep the oil in ; and snuffers to trim the 
lamps ; and basins to catch the blood of the sacrifices ; and spoons 
to hold the incense ; and censers of pure gold, with which to 
carry the coals from one altar to another, and on which the in- 
cense was burnt ; and hinges of gold for the doors. 

Lastly, Solomon laid up in the temple all the treasure that re- 
mained, and would use none for himself ; and this might serve 
for purchasing sacrifices, and repairing the house of the Lord. 

This temple soon perished, and its worshippers died. It re- 
tained its splendour only about thirty-four years, when Shishak, 
king of Egypt, took Jerusalem, and carried away the treasures 
of the temple ; and, after having been pillaged at other different 
times, it was finally burnt and plundered by the Chaldeans, un- 
der Nebuchadnezzar, having stood altogether only about four 
hundred years. 


DEDICATION OF THE TEMPLE 




SOLOMON’S SERVANTS HEWING THE CEDARS OF LEBANON. 



539 



CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


THE EIGHTH CHAPTER OF I. KINGS. 

The Dedication of the Temple . 

M So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of 
the Lord.” — Ver. 63. 

The temple being finished, Solomon got together all the chief 
men of Israel, and they attended the priests who brought the ark 
from out of the place where it had remained in David’s time, in 
the city of David, and placed it in the temple. There, also, they 
put the materials of the old tabernacle used from the time of 
Moses, that they might never be employed for any common pur- 
poses ; and all the holy vessels were carefully lodged there — that 
is, the candlestick, the shew-bread table, the incense altar, and 
other like things. And on this occasion king Solomon and the 
congregation of Israel sacrificed sheep and oxen in such numbers, 
that it is said, they “ could not be told nor numbered for multi- 
tude meaning, by these words, not that they might not have 
been counted, but that it would have cost some labour to have 
reckoned them up, and that they were a very large number in- 
deed. This was a way of expressing themselves quite common 
among the Jews. 

The ark was put into that part of the temple called the oracle, 
the holy of holies, and the most holy place, where none but the 
high-priest might enter, and he but once a year ; and it was co- 
vered over by the spread wings of the cherubims. 

As soon as the priests had set down the ark, and come out of 
the most holy place, the Levites, who were singers, arrayed in fine 
linen and with musical instruments in their hands, stood at the 
east end of the altar of burnt-offering ; and one hundred and 
twenty priests, blowing their trumpets, praised the Lord, together 
with the singers. Trumpets, cymbals, psalteries, and harps, were 
sounded in sweet and grand accord, and the singers sung in loud 
chorus, “ Praise ye the Lord, for his mercy endureth for ever !” 
Oh, how delightful it must have been to have seen these sights, 
and heard these sounds! God was pleased with the people’s 





praises, for now “ the cloud filled the house of the Lord,” — that 
token of the Divine presence which Israel so often saw in the 
days of Moses. And “ the priests could not stand to minister be- 
cause of the cloud : for the glory of the Lord had filled the house 
of the Lord.” More particulars of this interesting event may be 
found in the fifth chapter of the Second Book of Chronicles. But 
let it turn our thoughts to reflect for a moment on that blessed 
state when all the saints that have ever lived shall unite together 
in praising God, and when they shall see his glory for ever and 
ever ; well may it fill the hearts of those who serve God here 
with the most lively hopes and the most cheerful joy. 

When Solomon perceived that the glory of the Lord was pre- 
sent, beaming forth from out of the thick cloud in which it was 
veiled, he fell on his knees before the altar of burnt-offering, and 

( before all the people ; and he prayed a most devout and solemn 
prayer, spreading out his hands towards heaven, while all the peo- 
ple joined him with their minds, being in a standing posture. He 
earnestly thanked God for his mercies to his father David, and to 
himself, and then implored him to hear all the prayers that might 
I be put up in that temple, in war, pestilence, famine, and all the 
variety of circumstances in which Israel might be placed : and 
having finished this beautiful prayer, as you find it in this chap- 
ter, he arose from his knees, and turning round to the congrega- 
tion, blessed them all with a loud voice, and exhorted them to 
walk in God’s ways, and keep his commandments. 

Solomon having finished his prayer, now proceeded to offer 
sacrifice before the Lord ; “ and he offerd unto the Lord two and 
twenty thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand 
sheep.” This was a wonderful number to slay, but fourteen days 
were employed in this work, and it could, therefore, be easily 
done. God approved of what Solomon did, and showed that his 
prayer, as well as his offerings, were acceptable ; for, in the se- 
venth chapter of the Second Book of Chronicles, we read, that 
“ fire came down from heaven, and consumed the sacrifices.” 

The king then offered burnt-offerings in other parts of the 
temple, and then he and all Israel feasted on those parts of the 
peace-offerings which were allowed by the law for their use. 



541 



child’s COMMENTATOR. 


After having thus spent “ seven days and seven days, even 
fourteen days,” as we read in the fifty-sixth verse — that is, seven 
days in dedicating the temple, and seven in feasting at the feast 
of tabernacles which followed, — the people blessed the king, 
thanked God for all they had enjoyed, and returned home with 
cheerful hearts. So they lost nothing by serving God, nor shall 
we, if we really serve him with sincere hearts. 


THE NINTH CHAPTER OF I. KINGS. 


Solomon's New Cities and Merchant Ships. 




“ And Solomon built Gezer and Betb-horon the nether, and 
Baalath and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land. And all 
the cities of store which Solomon had, and cities for his chari- 
ots, and cities for horsemen, and that which Solomon desired 
to build in Jerusalem and in Lebanon, and in all the land of 
his dominion.” — Yer. 17, &c. 

After the building of the temple, Solomon had another dream, 
in which God told him that he would establish his throne for him- 
self and his children, if he faithfully continued to serve him ; but, 
if he and his people turned to idolatry, and so departed from his 
commandments, then Israel should no longer enjoy the land he 
had given them ; and their beautiful temple should be destroyed 
in such a manner that all who saw its ruins should wonder, and 
ask, “ Why hath the Lord done thus unto this land and this 
house V ' 

Solomon having had a great deal of gold as well as timber from 
Hiram, king of Tyre, to build his houses, gave him, in payment 
for these, the taxes laid on twenty cities ; some think, indeed, 
that he gave him the cities entirely, they being not cities of Israel, 
which he durst not give, but cities which had been conquered on 
the borders of Israel. Hiram seems not to have been satisfied 





542 


child’s commentator. 


with his present, and so Solomon taxed all Israel to pay his debts 
to Hiram, amounting to six score talents of gold, or about two 
million seven hundred thousand dollars, and to enable himself to 
build a number of fine cities : among these was “ Tadmor, in the 
wilderness,” known now by the name of Palmyra, the ruins of 
which, in part, remain, and still give an idea of Solomon’s grand- 
eur, — for a more splendid city the world never saw. As the la- 
bour of building was hard work, Solomon employed the people 
of the race of the old Canaanites, that yet remained in the land ; 
and “ all the people that were left of the Amorites, Hittites, 
Perizites, Hivites, and Jebusites,” whom the children of Israel 
were not able utterly to destroy, were forced into bond-service. 
As they had no money to pay Solomon, he obliged them to give 
him their labour in building, as the Israelites were aforetime 
obliged to make bricks and build for the Egyptians. 

Solomon, continuing to worship God, went three times a year 
to the temple, and offered sacrifices at the Passover, Pentecost, 
and the Feast of Tabernacles, never neglecting these grand occa- 
sions : but these were not all, for, as one diligently serving God, 
many other times of worship required his services. 

Solomon had also the first navy that we read of, and in build- 
ing and managing his ships he was obliged to have the aid of the 
Tyrians, as well as in building the temple. And these ships, which 
were merchant-ships, were sent down the Red Sea, under the charge 
of Hiram’s sailors, to fetch gold from a distant place, perhaps "in 
India, then called Ophir ; and Solomon’s fleet brought him back 
“ four hundred and twenty talents,” which are reckoned equal to 
nine million four hundred and fifty thousand dollars. 

See how God has given different men different abilities. — 
Solomon’s people were chiefly husbandmen, and could only work 
on the land in ploughing, sowing, reaping and gathering its 
fruits : Hiram’s were clever in the arts, and could build well and 
steer ships. On this account men ought to be kind towards each 
other, even the highest to the lowest, for no one can well do with- 
out the help of others. And, indeed, all the people of the world, 
did they know their own interest, would be friendly towards 
each other, for, even were war not a cruel practice, there is 




CHILD 8 COMMENTATOR. 


543 


enough to induce them to be thus kind, as, by the exchange of 
articles, they greatly promote each other’s comforts, and add to 
each other’s wealth. 


THE TENTH CHAPTER OP I. KINGS. 

The Queen of Sheba's Visit to Solomon — Solomon's great Riches. 

“ And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, 
concerning the name of the Lord, she came to prove him with 
hard questions.” 

“ So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches 
and for wisdom.” — Vers. 1 & 23. 


It is not quite certain where Sheba was. Some think it was 
in Africa, others in Asia, in a country called Arabia Felix, or 
Arabia the Happy, and others in Sumatra, in the East Indies. 
However, there was a queen lived in a country of that name, 
who, having heard the fame of Solomon’s wisdom, was resolved 
to travel into his dominions to see him ; and according to a very 
common custom of the East, she prepared a number of difficult 
questions and riddles to put to Solomon, that she might find out 
whether he was so wise as report stated him to be. 

Agreeably to her rank, she set off on her journey, accompanied 
by a number of attendants ; and she carried with her, as is still 
usual in the East, a number of articles to give as presents, espe- 
cially to king Solomon: “And she came to Jerusalem with a 
very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much 
gold and precious stones.” 

“ And when she was come to Solomon, she communed with 
him of all that was in her heart,” — that is, she talked with him 
about every thing which she had borne in her memory for the 
occasion, and about which she wished to ask him. 

“ And Solomon told her all her questions ; there was not any 
thing hid from the king which he told her not.” He found out 
all her riddles, and if she asked him about things wonderful in 


544 



child’s commentator. 

nature, or difficult in religion, he answered all her questions with 
equal ease, for God had made him wise in all these things. 

“ And when the Queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon’s wisdom,” 
which she perceived by his answers ; “ and the house that he had 
built” — the buildings and furniture of his palace ; “ and the meat 
of his table” — so large a quantity ; “ and the sitting of his ser- 
vants,” all placed in their proper rank and order ; “ and the at- 
tendance of his ministers,” or those that waited at table, who each 
filled his proper place, and all without any confusion ; “ and their 
apparel,” dressed in rich and splendid liveries ; “ and his cup- 
bearers,” who served him and his nobles with wine and other li- 
quors, when they had occasion to drink ; “ and his ascent by 
which he went up unto the house of the Lord” — the very curious 
steps which he had made to go up from the palace to the temple ; 
“ there was no more spirit in her.” She was so astonished that, 
for a time, she was unable to speak. At last she said to the king, 
“ It was a true report that I heard in mine own land, of thy acts 
and of thy wisdom. Howbeit I believed not the words, until I 
came, and mine eyes had seen it : and, behold, the half was not 
told me : thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I 
heard. Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants which 
stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom. Blessed 
be the Lord thy God which delighteth in thee, to set thee on the 
throne of Israel : because the Lord loved Israel for ever, there- 
fore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice.” 

The queen, now, according to the custom of the East, offered 
this great man her presents : and she, as well as Solomon, must 
have been very rich, for she gave him as much gold as we read, 
in the last chapter, of his paying to Hiram, “ a hundred and 
twenty talents,” or two million seven hundred thousand dol- 
lars. This sum of itself was a noble present, but this was not 
all that she gave to Solomon ; she also added “ of spices a very 
great store, and precious stones” — diamonds, and other such rare 
articles dug out of the earth. So Solomon had now riches in 
abundance, for Hiram’s ships brought him gold and precious 
stones, and a valuable wood called the almug tree, with which he 
“ made pillars for the house of the Lord, and for the king’s house, 



harps also, and psalteries for singers.” Josephus, the Jewish his. 
torian, says that there were as many as four hundred thousand 
musical instruments. 

After the queen of Sheba had been so liberal, Solomon might 
very well afford to be liberal to her ; and so we read, “ KingSolo- 
mon gave unto the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she 
asked, beside that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty.” 
It is not proper with us for people to ask us to give them any 
thing of value which they may fancy — to do so would be very 
rude ; but in the East, especially among the rich, it is common ; 
and, therefore, the queen might, with propriety, ask Solomon to 
give her many curious pieces of workmanship which she saw, and 
which would be highly valued by her, as his gift, and as made by 
his clever workmen under his direction. It seems, too, that the 
queen was not covetous nor unreasonable in her requests, for 
Solomon denied her nothing that she asked, and then he added 
other things “of his royal bounty,” or without asking. No doubt 
Solomon was liberal to her in return for her liberality to him, 
and sent her back well pleased with her visit. 

This chapter closes by telling us more about Solomon’s great 
wealth, and it is enough to make us wonder. The princes of the 
East are some of them very rich now, but their riches are no- 
thing compared to those of Solomon. “ The weight of gold that 
came to Solomon in one year, was six hundred three score and 
fiix talents of gold this amounted to nearly fifteen mil- 
lions of dollars. Besides this money, he had also “of the 
merchant-men, and of the traffic of the spice-merchants” — or 
what, in our country, we call customs, or duties, paid on different 
articles of trade brought from abroad, before persons can trade 
in them. “ All the kings of Arabia” also paid him tribute, or 
sent him presents every year, that they might keep the favour 
of so wise and great a prince — and “the governors of the 
country,” conquered by his father, sent the tribute also which 
they received. 

With all this wealth, Solomon made two hundred targets of 
“beaten gold,” or gold beaten out with the hammer. These 
targets were a very large sort of shield, which screened the whole 





CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


body, and the value of the gold put in each of the two hundred, 
was twenty-two hundred and fifty dollars. 

“ And he made three hundred shields of beaten gold;” three 
pounds of gold went to one shield, and these three pounds in 
weight made these three hundred shields worth eleven hundred 
and twenty-five dollars each. These targets and shields were put 
mto tne armoury, in the house of the forest of Lebanon. As 
Solomon was a peaceable king, he did not make these warlike 
articles to help his soldiers in battle, but only for them to carry 
before him when he went out in state as a great king, as our ma- 
gistrates have swords and maces carried before them now. 

He made also a great throne of ivory, or elephant’s teeth, 
which was very rich, and overlaid it with gold, — either put on in 
plates in various parts, or curiously inlaid, like some cabinet 
work. The arms of this throne, or seat, also rested on some fi 
gures of lions made in gold. “ And all king Solomon’s drinking 
vessels were of gold ; and all the vessels of the house of the forest 
of Lebanon, were of pure gold, none were of silver : it was no- 
thing accounted of in the days of Solomon.” 

Thus was Solomon the richest prince in the world, for much 
people came from all parts of the earth to visit him, and as rich 
men in the East always expect presents from their visitors, Solo- 
mon knew no end to his income, for “ they brought every man 
his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, 
and armour, and spices, horses and mules, a rate year by year.” 

Solomon had also a thousand and four hundred chariots, and 
twelve thousand horsemen, some of whom “ he bestowed,” or 
placed in the cities, where he kept his chariots, and the rest were 
his guards at Jerusalem, — so, if any king had made war against 
him, he had wisely prepared a sufficient defence for his kingdom ; 
but he was too wise to make war himself, for he knew it was a 
wicked thing, and would do no good to his subjects, and so he, 
like a good king, kept at peace with his neighbours and the 
world, and made peace and happiness at home. 

You see that king Solomon did not hoard up his money like a 
rich miser, for then it would have done nobody any good, but he 
laid it out in works of art, and so he made his people clever, in- 


547 





CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 547 

dustrious, and rich ; for while he had plenty of gold, his people 
had plenty of silver, which the king made to be in Jerusalem as 
stones, or as common as the stones in the street. And cedars, 
which were a valuable wood, he imported, — or got from abroad 
by ships, — in such quantities that they were as common as the 
sycamore trees, with which Judea abounded, as much as our 
country does with gooseberries and currants. 

We are told that Solomon bought many of his chariots and 
horses in Egypt ; the price which he gave for his horses was an 
hundred and fifty shekels of silver each, or about fifty dollars, and 
in like manner he bought them of the kings of the Hittites, and 
of the kings of Syria. 

My dear young reader, I do not like to end this story of Solo- 
mon’s riches without reminding you that Jesus Christ has told us 
that while the Queen of Sheba came from afar to hear the wisdom 
of Solomon, he is a greater person than Solomon, and far more 
wise and rich than he. He is so wise that no one ever failed that 
sincerely looked to him in prayer, to show him the way to hea- 
ven ; and so rich that he can enrich our lives with peace and hap- 
piness here, and an inheritance of bliss in the world to come, 
which are better than all the gold and silver, and other treasures, 
which Solomon ever possessed. 


THE ELEVENTH CHAPTER OF I. KINGS. 

Solomon’s Disobedience to God. 

“ And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not 
fully after the Lord, as did David his father.” — Ver. 6. 


Solomon, who knew better, was guilty of the greatest wicked- 
ness. He, who had been so good, turned out at last very bad. 
This teaches you and me, always to pray earnestly to God Al- 
mighty to keep us from sinning against him ; for, I fear that 
Solomon, who offered up so beautiful a prayer in the temple, 
21 



548 CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 

when it was dedicated, neglected now to watch and pray, or God 
would surely have kept him from evil. 

We have read that Solomon was now grown very rich, and his 
money enabled him to do any thing. So he had a large number 
of wives, amounting in the whole to a thousand. These were so 
many that he could scarcely speak to half of them for a long time 
together, but, as it was the custom of Eastern princes to have 
many wives, he thought he would be as grand, if not more grand, 
than the rest, and have this prodigious number. Now this was 
wrong; but what was very bad indeed, was, that these were 
“ strange women,” or, what we call foreigners, and they did not 
become worshippers of the true God, as Pharaoh’s daughter is 
thought to have been, who was Solomon’s chief wife — but were 
wicked idolaters, “ women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edom- 
ites, Zidonians, and Hittites ; of the nations concerning which the 
Lord said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, 
neither shall they come in unto you : for surely they will turn 
away your heart after their gods.” 

Solomon forgot, or did not care, for what the Lord had said, 
and so, indeed, it came to pass, that, as he had chosen these heathen 
women, they did turn away his heart after other gods. “ For 
Solomon went after Ashtaroth,” or Venus, “ the goddess of the 
Zidonians, and after Milcom,” or Moloch, “ the abomination of 
the Ammonites.” And he built places where these false gods 
were owned and worshipped, and so he set a bad example to his 
subjects, did harm to his own soul, and insulted his God, who had 
been so good a God to him. 

And here we read, that “ the Lord was angry with Solomon.” 
I have told you, more than once, I believe, that God is not angry 
like us, but, when he sees sin, he marks it, and, — if not repented 
of most sincerely, and pardon asked through Jesus Christ, — he will 
not fail to punish it, and this is what is meant by his being angry, 
because he does what we should if we were angry with a persor 
who grievously offended us. So God told Solomon that, as he 
had not kept his statutes or commands, he would rend the king 
dom from his family ; and his son and heir to his kingdom, whose 
mother was a wicked Ammonitess, should not reign in peace, but 



child’s commentator. 549 

one, v, ho was then his servant, should take away the greater part 
of his dominions, and rule over them. Jerusalem should, however, 
be spared for David’s sake, and for the sake of the temple there. 

Yet, though Solomon did not then lose his kingdom, he lost his 
peace. His sin, like all sin, was as a thorn in his side, and 
brought evil upon him. 

There were two powerful princes who hated Solomon, but God 
had hitherto prevented them from hurting or troubling him ; now, 
however, he prevented them no longer, and this is what is meant, 
when it is here said, “ The Lord stirred up an adversary unto 
Solomon, Hadad, the Edomite; and God stirred up another ad- 
versary, Rezon, the son of Eliadah.” 

The story of Hadad is remarkable, and so we must not pass it 
over. He owed Solomon a grudge ; and this was the reason : — in 
the eighth chapter of the Second Book of Samuel, we are told that 
David had conquered Edom, and Joab, his general, put all the 
males to the sword ; a terrible execution he made, taking revenge 
on Edom for their old enmity to Israel, yet, perhaps, with too 
great a severity. From this general slaughter, while Joab was 
burying the slain, — for he left not any alive of their own people 
to bury them ; and buried they must be, or they would be an 
annoyance to the country, — Hadad, a branch of the royal family, 
and then a little child, was taken and preserved by some of the 
king’s servants, and brought to Egypt. They halted by the way, 
in Midian first, and then in Paran, where they furnished them- 
selves with men, — not to fight for them, or force their passage, 
but to attend them, that their young master might come into 
Egypt with an equipage agreeable to his quality. There he was 
kindly sheltered and entertained by Pharaoh, as a distressed 
prince ; he was well provided for, and so recommended himself, 
that, in process of time, he married the queen’s sister, and had a 
child, which the queen herself took such a liking to, that she 
brought him up in Pharaoh’s house, among the king’s children. 
He returned to his own country again, upon the death of David 
and Joab, in which it should seem he settled, and remained quiet 
while Solomon remained wise and watchful for the public good ; 
but from which he had an opportunity of making inroads on 




Israel, when Solomon, having sinned away his wisdom, as Sam- 
son did his strength, and in the same way, grew careless of public 
affairs, was off his guard himself, and had forfeited the Divine 
protection. 

Rezon, the other adversary of Solomon, was a Syrian. When 
David conquered the Syrians, he headed the remains of the con- 
quered people, and lived at large by spoil and rapine. At length, 
when Solomon grew careless, he got possession of Damascus, and 
reigned there and over the country round about ; and he created 
troubles to Israel, probably in conjunction with Hadad, all the 
days of Solomon — that is, after he had sinned so greatly against 
God. I have given these stories chiefly in the words of Mr. 
Henry, as I think they are related by him in a way that you can 
easily understand ; you will find them in the words of Scripture 
beginning at the fourteenth verse of the chapter. 

You recollect that Solomon was told that, for his sins against 
God, his son should lose the kingdom, and it should be given to 
one of Solomon’s servants. That servant was named Jeroboam, 
the son of Nebat. He had the good quality of being very indus- 
trious and minding his business ; and Solomon, like a wise man, 
employed him rather than an idle person, and made him a ruler 
of the charge, or taxes, of the house of Joseph, so that he collected 
the king’s taxes from the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh,* — for 
these were what was called the house of J oseph. “ And as he was 
going to take possession of his government, he was told by the 
prophet Ahijah, in God’s name, that he should be king.” Prophets 
spoke by remarkable signs : “ And Ahijah caught the new garment 
that was on him and rent it in twelve pieces. And he said to 
J eroboam, Take thee ten pieces : for thus saith the Lord, the God 
of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of 
Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee.” Then he repeated 
what God had before said to Solomon ; and he added that if Jero- 
boam would walk in God’s ways, God would never forsake him 
and his family, for it was for sin that David’s family was for- 
saken, yet he would in time restore it, and not punish it for ever. 

News of Jeroboam’s being thus elected king of the ten tribes 
came to Solomon’s ears, and he was very angry. “Solomon 


551 





child’s commentator. 

sought, therefore, to kill Jeroboam;” as if he could prevent what 
God had purposed ; this was a sign that Solomon had lost his 
wisdom owing to his sin, or he would not have thought and done 
so foolishly. “And Jeroboam arose and fled into Egypt, unto 
Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solo- 
mon. 

Solomon now died, after a reign of forty years, and his son 
Rehoboam reigned in his stead. 

There were other things which Solomon did, and which were 
written in a book kept in his time, and called “ the Book of the 
Acts of Solomon that is, the book of what Solomon did ; but that 
book was not a divine book, and so it has long since been lost. 

Many persons think that Solomon repented of his sins before 
he died, and that God pardoned him as a sincere penitent ; and 
they suppose this from what he has written in the book of Eccle- 
siastes. I hope it was so, but the Bible is silent about it, and for 
this reason — to teach us to take care how we sin against God. 
Sin is a dreadful thing ; we are not quite sure but that it ruined 
Solomon, and we must take great care, and pray often and ear- 
nestly to God tha\f he would keep us from practising it, and that 
it may not ruin us. 


THE TWELFTH CHAPTER OF I. KINGS. 

Jeroboam, chosen King of the Ten Tribes , and Rehoboam King of 

Judah. 


“And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was 
come regain, that they sent and called him unto the congrega- 
tion, and made him king over all Israel : there was none that 
followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.” — 
Ver. 20. 


As soon as Solomon was dead, “ all Israel” assembled at She- 
chem, a city in the tribe of Ephraim, of which Jeroboam was ; 



552 


child’s commentator. 


under pretence of owning Rehoboam as their king, but they de- 
signed only to seek occasion to quarrel with him. 

So they sent for Jeroboam out of Egypt, where he had fled out 
of the way of Solomon, and they made him their head to begin a 
rebellion. 

And they began to complain that Solomon had used them ill, 
and laid heavy taxes upon them — though they never had a more 
peaceable and prosperous king ; and they promised Rehoboam, 
that, if he would use them better, he should be their king. 

This complaint was probably made to try Rehoboam’s dispo- 
sition; for he did not expect to be treated in this way, but 
to be acknowledged directly as his father’s successor. 

Rehoboam asked for three days to consider what he should do ; 
but, surely, if he wished to make his people easy and happy, he 
needed not to have wanted time to answer their conditions ; it is, 
therefore, to be feared that there was good reason to suppose that 
Rehoboam was inclined to be a tyrant, and so the people had a 
plausible excuse for not obeying him but upon the assurance that 
he would treat them well. 

Rehoboam now called together the old and wise men who as- 
sisted Solomon in ‘managing his kingdom, and asked their advice 
what he should do. And they told him that, if he would agree 
to be the servant of the people, and seek their welfare, as a faith- 
ful steward appointed to rule their affairs, and if he would speak 
kindly, and not crossly, to them, as he seemed disposed to do, 
then they would be sure to attach themselves to him most loy- 
ally as long as he lived. 

This was good advice, but he did not like it, and was too proud 
to submit to it ; and so he called his young men together, that 
were his friends, and as they were all proud like himself, and 
were glad of an opportunity of pleasing him, by agreeing to what 
they saw to be his wishes — they advised him to act in direct op- 
position to the opinion of the old men. 

So Rehoboam spoke roughly to the people, as the young men 
advised him, and he said, “ My father made your yoke heavy, but 
I will add to your yoke : my father also chastised you with whips, 
but I will chastise you with scorpions.” This was not speaking 


child’s commentator. 


553 


with respect of his father, as he ought to have done ; and if, in 
raising any of his buildings, or keeping his horses and chariots, 
and numerous attendants and wives, Solomon had made his people 
pay heavy taxes, it was neither like a good man nor a wise one, 
to follow the worst part of his father’s example. If his father 
had done what was wrong, Rehoboam ought not to have done so ; 
and if he would have gained the people’s love, it was not the way 
to gain it when he talked of treating them worse than his father did. 
It may be proper to observe here, that you must not understand 
that Solomon really made his people to work like oxen or slaves, 
with wooden yokes about their necks ; or that he really made 
them to be flogged with whips ; or that Rehoboam intended to 
punish them by flogging them with a still heavier whip, which 
was called by the name of a scorpion ; — all this was only speak- 
ing in what is called figures, and meaning only to express that, if 
Solomon gave the people any reason to complain against him, he, 
Rehoboam, would give them more reason ; just as they would feel 
a heavy yoke, if on their necks, more painful than a light one, or 
a flogging with a scorpion — a heavy whip with irons at the end 
like spurs for horses — more painful than one with a light whip. 

Here Rehoboam acted of his own accord, and showed his own 
folly in being so headstrong, but “ the cause was from the Lord, 
that he might perform his saying, which the Lord spake by 
Ahijah.” God left him to have his own way, and he paid dearly 
for his obstinacy. When young persons will not hearken to the 
good advice of old and wise people, they very often suffer for it 
as this rash prince did. 

If the people were not fond of Rehoboam before, this was 
enough to make them dislike him still more, and so they cried 
out, “ What portion have we in David ?”■ — that is, the house of 
David does not belong to us — our tribes have no need to care for 
a king of that family ; “ neither have we inheritance in the son of 
Jesse,” another name by which they meant David ; — “ now see 
to thine own house, David,” or, thou son or grandson of David — 
take care of thyself, and of thine own tribe. “ So Israel departed 
unto their tents ;” — they went home to their dwellings, and 
would not choose Rehoboam to be their king. 


554 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


So Rehoboam had only Judah to reign over, and part of the 
tribe of Benjamin, and such of the children of Israel as dwelt in 
the cities of Judah, and did not like to go and live in other parts 
of the land. From this time, then, we shall read of two kings 
where one only used to reign — the kings of Judah and Israel ; the 
tribes of Israel, with their lands, being divided between them. 

Rehoboam was much mortified to lose so large a portion of the 
people, and, to show his authority, he sent to demand taxes of 
them ; but this was another piece of folly, for if they would not 
own him for king, it was not likely that they would pay him any 
tribute. Some, however, think that Adoram, the person he sent, 
went only as a peace-maker, to try and gain the people over for 
Rehoboam ; but, as he was a person employed in gathering taxes, 
he could not have selected a worse to accomplish his object. 
However, Rehoboam failed, for the angry people would not pay 
him taxes and acknowledge him as king, and, in their fury, they 
fell upon the unfortunate Adoram, and pelted him with stones till 
he died. Rehoboam, on learning this, gave up all hopes of suc- 
cess, unless by force, and, lest he should be killed as Adoram was, 
he “ made speed to get him up in his chariot to flee to Jerusalem.” 

And all the people of Israel who lived in distant parts of the 
country, being told that Jeroboam was returned from Egypt, 
assembled and appointed him king over all Israel ; “there was 
none that followed the house of David,” except — as mentioned 
before — some of the tribe of Benjamin, and a few straggling per- 
sons of other tribes, “but the tribe of Judah only.” 

When Rehoboam reached Jerusalem, which was 40 miles from 
Shechem, he assembled all the men fit for war, and was about to 
march with an army of an hundred and eighty thousand chosen 
men, to fight against Israel. Had he marched directly with these, 
Jeroboam must have been beaten, for he had no such forces 
ready ; but God had designed that this proud young man should 
be humbled, and that his word by his prophet should not fail ; 
and so Shemaiah, a “ man of God,” or prophet, was now sent to 
forbid Rehoboam’s fighting, and to warn the people not to go 
against Israel ; and, therefore, they did not go. 

Jeroboam now began to build and repair some of his cities 


555 



child’s commentator. 


and, fearing that if his people should go up to Jerusalem to wor- 
ship — as the tribes had hitherto done at the command of God — 
they might forsake his authority, he thought of a scheme to keep 
them quite separate from Judah. Assisted by some wicked 
counsellors, he made two calves of gold, and said to the people, 
“ It is too much for you to go up to J erusalem,” which was a great 
way off : “ behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of 
the land of Egypt. And he set the one in Bethel, and the other 
in Dan.” And he made a house of high places, or a temple, at 
Dan, and also he made idolatrous priests, and ordained a religious 
service, and offered upon an altar that he built, and burnt incense. 
In all this he did wickedly, and displeased God, who punished 
him for his great sin, as we shall learn in reading the next chapter. 


THE THIRTEENTH CHAPTER OF I. KINGS. 

Jeroboam's Hand withered — The disobedient Prophet . 


w And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew 
him : and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood 
by it, the lion also stood by the carcase.” — Ver. 24. 


1 


While Jeroboam was standing at his idolatrous altar, and offer- 
ing incense displeasing to God, God sent a prophet out of Judah 
to reprove him for his sin, and to foretell the destruction of his 
wicked race of priests, and the ruin of his altars. “ And he cried 
against the altar in the word of the Lord, and said, O altar, altar, 
thus saith the Lord, Behold, a child shall be borne unto the house 
of David, Josiah by name, and upon thee shall he offer the priests 
of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones 
shall be burnt upon thee.” The altar could not hear what he said, 
but this was the way in which he was to reprove the king and his 
priesfts and people, and pronounce the end of this wickedness. 
You will, by and by, read about Josiah, a prince of that house of 
David which Jeroboam now despised, and how he did what the 
prophet here said he should do ; and yet this did not happen till 



556 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


three hundred and sixty -six years after the prophet had prophe 
sied. But God told the prophet, and he knows everything that will 
take place in all the world ; we see by the world he has made 
that he is very powerful and very wise, and we cannot but believe 
what his word tells us, that “ all things are possible with God.” 

That the king might not have any reason to doubt the prophet’s 
word, he showed him a sign that God had sent him. “ Behold,” 
said he, “ the altar shall be rent, and the ashes shall be poured 
out.” 

Jeroboam, who felt that he was reproved, and not the sense- 
less altar, and being full of rage, stretched out his hand, and 
cried, “ Lay hold on him.” “ And his hand, which he put forth 
against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to 
him.” The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from 
the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given 
by the word of the Lord. 

Jeroboam was frightened when his hand dried up and became 
shrivelled, and then he remembered that his calves could not re- 
store his hand, and he bagged the prophet to entreat the Lord 
his God that his hand might be cured. And the prophet forgave 
his bitter enemy, when he showed signs of sorrow, — as all good 
men should forgive, — and he prayed to God, and God restored 
the king’s hand. 

Then Jeroboam, to show his gratitude, asked the prophet to go 
with him and take something to eat and refresh himself, for he 
must have been weary after a long journey. But God had forbidden 
the prophet to eat with any one at Bethel, to show how much he 
detested the ways of the wicked, and good people should not make 
them their companions. So he would not go with the king. 

“ Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel,” one who had pro- 
bably been trained up in one of Samuel’s colleges ; but he seems 
to have departed from God, or he would not have lived among 
bad people, or at least without reproving them for their idolatry. 
When this prophet was told by his sons of all that had happened 
at the altar, he was very anxious to see the prophet of Judah, 
who, by this time, was on his way home. So he got his ass sad- 
dled, and rode after him as fast as he could. And he found him 



child's Commentator. 557 

faint and weary, sitting under an oak to screen him from the sun, 
and he asked him to go back with him and have something to 
eat. But the prophet of Judah would not go back, because God 
had told him not to eat at Bethel. The old prophet, however, 
invented a lie, and told him that an angel had commanded him 
from the Lord to bring him back. 

No doubt he was glad to return, as he was weary and wanted 
some refreshment, but he too hastily believed the old prophet, 
and so disobeyed God. As God had told him what to do, he 
ought to have prayed to God that he might do what was right 
before he attempted to return; but he forgot this, and so you 
will see what happened for his disobedience. 

While he and the old prophet were sitting at table, God spake 
by the old man, and he cried unto the man of God that came 
from Judah, saying, “Thus saith the Lord, Forasmuch as thou 
hast disobeyed the mouth of the Lord,” that is, not minded what 
God had spoken, as is plain from what follows, “ and hast not kept 
the commandment which the Lord thy God commanded thee, but 
earnest back and hast eaten bread and drank water in the place 
of which the Lord did say unto thee, Eat no bread and drink no 
water, thy carcase shall not come into the sepulchre of thy fa- 
thers that is, thou shalt die very soon, and shalt not be buried 
with thy relations. This seems a very severe sentence, but it 
shows you and me, how much God is displeased with sin. 

My dear young reader, have you never disobeyed God’s com- 
mands ? — think a little — yes, you have. It is of his great mercy 
that he has not slain you : though we have no lions i.i our roads 
here, to kill us as you will find the prophet was killed, yet he 
could do it in a thousand other ways. But though you have sinned, 
he has spared you. And why has he done this 1 That you may 
repent. That you may love him and serve him all your days. 
But if, after all, you do not feel sorrow for your sins against 
God, and humbly seek pardon through Jesus Christ, you will 
perish more wretchedly than this prophet, who, though his body 
was slain by a lion, was, we hope, yet saved at last : for though 
he sinned, and his sin was great as a prophet, yet he did not 
seem to have sinned wilfully, but through weakness, and we 




558 CHILD 8 COMMENTATOR. 

may hope that though God killed his body, he spared his 
soul. 

The old prophet now lent the man of God his ass, and he 
rode towards home, but a lion met him by the way and slew 
him. 

Now, this was not a mere common accident, for if so, the lion 
would have devoured the man, and have killed his ass as well as 
himself, and have attacked the passengers who saw the lion and 
the carcase ; but when the beast had slain the prophet he was like 
a tame animal, and did no other harm. “ And, behold, men 
passed by and saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion 
standing by the carcase : and they came and told it in the city 
where the old prophet dwelt.” 

The old prophet immediately went and took away the body, 
and mourned over it, — as well he might, for he had brought the 
prophet of Judah to this sad end, — and then he buried him in his 
own sepulchre. 

As for Jeroboam he still went on in his wickedness. There are 
many that will hear no warnings, but they shall not escape at 
last. God is just as well as merciful — 0 that we may seek his 
favour, and then he will be merciful to us ! 


THE FOURTEENTH CHAPTER OF I. KINGS. 

The Sins of Jeroboam and Rehoboam , and the Afflictions of Israel 
and Judah. 

“ For the Lord shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the wa- 
ter, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he 
gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, 
because they have made their groves, provoking the Lord to 
anger. 

“ And he shall give Israel up, because of the sins of Jeroboam, 
who did sin, and who made Israel to sin. 

“ And Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they provoked 
him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, 
above all that their fathers had done. 


559 



child’s commentator. 

“ Fcr they also built them high places, and images, and groves, 
on every high hill, and under every green tree.” — Vers. 15, 
16, and 22, 23. 




Jeroboam had a son named Abijah, and now, as a punishment 
of Jeroboam’s sin, God permitted some disease to fall upon him 
and threaten his life. 

The king then told his wife to disguise herself, or dress in such 
way as that she might not be known, and to take a present with 
her, and go to Shiloh, to Ahijah the prophet, — who had told him 
that he should be king over Israel, — and the prophet would tell 
her whether the child would live or die. How silly men often 
are when they are wicked ! — for if the prophet could tell what 
would happen to the child, surely he could tell who came to 
consult him; so that it was a proof of great folly to tell his wife 
to try and deceive him. 

Ahijah was now blind from age, but God told nim that Jero- 
boam’s wife was about to visit him, and for what purpose, and 
what he should say to her. 

As soon as he heard the sound of her feet entering in at the 
door, he knew who she was, and he said, “ Come in, thou wife of 
Jeroboam ; why feignest thou thyself to be another % — for I am 
sent to thee with heavy tidings.” And then he told her to tell 
Jeroboam how God was displeased with him for all his ingratitude 
after he had raised him to the throne of Israel ; and for all the 
evil he had done in making other gods, and molten images ; and 
that he would cut off all his heirs from the throne, so that none 
should remain, — just as men sweep aw r ay from their sight the last 
remains of filthy dung. “Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the 
city,” said the prophet, “ shall the dogs eat ; and him that dieth 
in the field shall the fowls of the air eat ; for the Lord hath 
spoken it meaning to say that none of them should be decently 
buried. One only should be honourably buried ; the child Abijah 
should die, and all Israel should mourn for him as the heir to the 
throne, and God would take him away in love to him, because 
he should not live to suffer the disgrace which should fall upon 
the family of this wicked king — “ because,” said the prophet, “ in 





560 


child’s commentator. 


him there is found some good thing toward the Lord God of 
Israel in the house of Jeroboam.” See here how God loves 
good children and notices them, and if, like Abijah, they are 
taken out of this world when “ some good thing” is in them, they 
have nothing to fear, for God will take them to himself. He is 
pleased with them, for the good that is in them he kindly puts 
there ; we have only to pray that he would make us good, or in 
other words, make us to love and serve him, and then, whether 
we live or die, we shall be sure to be happy. 

The prophet then told how God would raise up a king to cut 
off the house of Jeroboam, which was soon after done by Baasha, 
and Israel too should suffer because Jeroboam had made them to 
sin. If others tempt us to sin against God, God will punish them 
for being the tempters, but that is no excuse for us to say they 
persuaded us to do the evil ; in doing what is bad, we also expose 
ourselves to just punishment. Oh, let us then be afraid of sinning 
against the great God 1 

Well, as soon as Jeroboam’s wife got home, the child died as the 
prophet had foretold, and all the rest of his words came to pass. 

More was said about this wicked king in some chronicles, or 
accounts of his deeds which were kept in his life-time, but not 
being a part of the Word of God, they are lost, with many other 
things that have perished by time. 

The length of Jeroboam’s reign was twenty-two years, and 
Nadab his son reigned in his stead. He lived longer than Reho- 
boam, as he reigned only seventeen years. 

Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign over 
Judah : and as he reigned seventeen years, he was only fifty-eight 
years of age when he died. The same evils that were committed 
in Israel were also done in Judah — idols were worshipped, and 
all the sins which made God destroy Sodom were here practised. 
So God permitted Shishak, king of Egypt, to conquer Jerusalem, 
and he took away all the treasures which David and Solomon had 
laid up, and all the rich and beautiful shields of gold, about which 
we have read, which Solomon had made, and Rehoboam was 
obliged to have shields of brass made instead of them, that thev 
might be carried before him whenever he went out in state. 


}/; 


child’s commentator. 


561 


Thus, on account of his sins, Rehoboam died disgraced by his 
foes. His whole life was a scene of trouble, as was Jeroboam’s, 
for “ there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their 
days.” 

Rehoboam was buried in the city of David, and his son Abi- 
jam reigned in his stead. 


THE FIFTEENTH CHAPTER OF I. KINGS. 

The Reigns of Abijarn and Asa , Kings of Judah, and of Nadab 
and Baasha, Kings of Israel . 

“ And Abijarn slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the 
city of David : and Asa his son reigned in his stead.” 

“ And Nadab, the son of Jeroboam, began to reign over Israel in 
the second year of Asa, king of Judah, and reigned over Israel 
two years. And Baasha, the son of Ahijah, of the house of 
Issachar, conspired against him ; and Baasha smote him at 
Gibbethon, which belongeth to the Philistines (for Nadab, and 
all Israel laid siege to Gibbethon.) Even in the third year of 
Asa, king of Judah, did Baasha slay him, and reigned in his 
stead.” — Vers. 8 and 25. 

You remember that Rehoboam, king of Judah, and Jeroboam, 
who was made king over Israel, both began to reign at the same 
time ; but Rehoboam reigned only seventeen years, while Jero- 
boam reigned twenty-two years — five years longer. During those 
five years, there were two other kings reigned over Judah, Abi- 
jam and Asa. Abijarn, the son of Rehoboam, reigned three years 
only. He was as wicked as his father ; yet, for David’s sake, did 
the Lord his God give him a lamp in Jerusalem — which means, 
that God did not extinguish his family, as we put out a light, but 
let the lamp continue to burn, — that is, let the family still reign, 
for he set up his son after him to establish Jerusalem, where 
were his temple and altar. Abijarn, like his father, continued to 
go to war with Jeroboam. Abijarn was buried in the city of 
David, and Asa his son reigned in his stead. 



562 child’s commentator. 

“ And in the twentieth year of Jeroboam, king of Israel, reigned 
Asa over Judah.” He drove the wicked out of the land, and re- 
moved the idols which his father had made. Nor did he pass by 
sin in his grandmother, Maachah, — for she was the mother of his 
father, Abijam, though he called her his mother, because she had, 
perhaps, brought him up as a mother. Maachah was fond of 
idols, and had set up one in a grove, which he broke to pieces 
and burnt; and he took away her royal dignity of queen, that all 
might see he was resolved to honour his God, and that he would 
not allow the great to set an evil example. And whatever spoils 
had been dedicated to God, with silver and gold vessels for the 
temple, he took care to place there. 

It is pleasant, after reading about bad kings, to read of this 
good king ; yet even he did what was not right, for he bribed 
Benhadad to break his promise of friendship with the king of Is- i 
rael ; and his bribes were taken out of the gold and silver that 
he had given for God’s service in the temple. Benhadad, in con- 
sequence, went and fought against Israel, and rescued Judah from \ 
their encroachments. 

Asa, in his latter years, was diseased in his feet, some think he 1 
had the gout ; he reigned forty-one years, and left his throne to I 
Jehoshaphat his son. | 

Two kings in Israel who succeeded Jeroboam are also mentioned 
in this chapter. “ Nadab, the son of Jeroboam, began to reign 
over Israel, in thesecond year of Asa, king of Judah.” He was a 
wicked king, and Baasha, a man of the tribe of Issachar, supposed 
to have been an officer in his army, conspired against him, and 
slew him. He was then besieging, or trying to take, Gibbethon, 
a city of the tribe of Dan, which the Philistines had obtained, and 
while he was engaged in warring, this man contrived to kill him. 

This was what the prophet Ahijah had said, as mentioned in the 
fourteenth chapter : “ Moreover, the Lord shall raise him up a 
king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day : 
but what? even now” — meaning, when will it happen 1 Why now, 
very soon. “ For it came to pass when he reigned, that he smote 
all the house of Jeroboam ; he left not to Jeroboam any that 
breathed, until he had destroyed him, according unto the saying 



CHILD 8 COMMENTATOR. 


563 


of the Lord, which he spake by his servant Ahijah, the Shilonite. 
Because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and which he 
made Israel sin, by his provocation wherewith he provoked the 
Lord to anger.” This cruelty of Baasha was, to prevent any of 
Jeroboam’s family from recovering the throne ; but while he was 
guilty of these murders, God left him to be the executioner of a 
wicked family, who was no longer to reign over Israel. Thus 
ended the reign of this Nadab, in two years. God sometimes 
spares sinners a long while, but often we see that “ the wicked is 
driven away in his wickedness.” 

Baasha was at war with Asa, king of Judah, for many years. 
He reigned twenty-four years over Israel, and was as wicked as 
the family of Jeroboam which he had destroyed. 


THE SIXTEENTH CHAPTER OF I. KINGS. 

The History of more Kings of Israel — Elah, the Son of Bnanho,, 
and Zimri , his Captain , who killed him, and destroyed Baasa.tr a 
F amily , as he had destroyed Jeroboam's ; and Omri, Captain of 
the Host, made King by all Israel. — The beginning of the Reign 
of Ahab. 

And Ahab, the son of Omri, did evil in the sight of the Lordi 
above all that were before him.” — Ver. 30. 


Before Baasha died, a prophet, named Jehu, was ordered to 
tell him that for his following wicked ways, as Jeroboam had 
done, God would cut off his family, as he had cut off that of Je- 
roboam, and he would punish him as a murderer : for though he 
had executed vengeance on a wicked man, he had done it for no 
good purpose, but only out of ambitious views, that he might ge f 
his tnrone. 

When Baasha died, his son Elah succeeded him ; but he reign 
ed only two years over Israel, for Zimri, one of his chief captains, 
killed him while he was getting drunk in the house of Arza, his 
iteward, and so reigned in his stead. 

And Zimri, fearing lest any of Baasha’s family should conspire 


child’s commentator. 


564 

against him, killed them also, as Jehu had foretold, and did just 
as Baasha had done to the family of Jeroboam. So here we see 
two entire wicked families destroyed for their sins. God would 
not have let the wicked usurpers seize the thrones, had they and 
their families loved and served him with all their hearts. 

Zimri reigned only seven days, yet, during his short reign, he 
showed that he was as wicked as those whom God had before 
punished. 

The army, being encamped before Gibbethon, and learning how 
Zimri had made himself king by killing his royal master, resolved 
that he should not long reign, and so they chose Omri, who also 
was a captain, and made him king that day in the camp. The 
army then left Gibbethon, and marched to Tirzah, where Zimri 
was, and besieged it, and took it. Zimri, seeing that he could 
not escape, ran to his palace, and set fire to it, and so perished in 
the flames. 

Omri was not, however, at ease, though chosen by the army of 
Israel, for a party rose up against him, — perhaps some of the 
friends of Zimri, — and they set up one “ Tibni, the son of Gin- 
ath,” as king ; so that, for. a long time, there were two kings in 
Israel fighting against each other, till, at last, Omri prevailed, 
and reigned over the whole kingdom. 

The royal palace having been burnt at Tirzah, Omri built an- 
other city, which became the royal residence, and this was after- 
wards famous in history. “ He bought the hill, Samaria, of She- 
mer, for two talents of silver, and built on the hill, and called 
the name of the city which he built, after the name of Shemer, 
owner of the hill, Samaria.” The price he gave for this ground 
was seven hundred pounds of our money, which was a small 
sum, but it might have been sold cheap to please the king, as he 
wanted the hill for such a purpose. 

Shechem was the first capital city of the kings of Israel, then 
Tirzah, and, from this time, Samaria. The city at last became so 
important, that the middle part of Canaan was called after it, and 
the inhabitants of the country between Galilee on the north, and 
J udah on the south, were called Samaritans. 

Omri reigned twelve years. He was a very wicked man, and 



IP.'-'l'isSSp'S 




ELIJAH RAISING THE DEAD CHILD 






ELIJAH MEETING THE WIDOW OF ZAREPHATH. 





child’s commentator. 567 

“ did worse than all that were before him.” He was buried in 
Samaria, and “ Ahab his son reigned in his stead.” 

Good Asa was yet reigning over Judah, for remember, he 
reigned “ forty and one years,” and so he saw the end of all these 
wicked kings of Israel, who had such short reigns. 

“ And in the thirty and eighth year of Asa, king of Judah, be- 
gan Ahab, the son of Omri, to reign over Israel.” Bad as Omri 
was, it is said Ahab “ did evil in the sight of the Lord, above all 
that were before him.” He married “Jezebel, the daughter of 
Ethbaal, king of the Zidonians,” or people of Zidon ; she was a 
bad woman, and a great idolator, and, to please her, he 'worship- 
ped her ugly idol, called Baal, which she had set up in Samaria, 
and he made the people worship it too. Indeed, Israel had now 
become so wicked, that in defiance of a curse which had been pro- 
nounced by Joshua when he destroyed Jericho — threatening 
death against the first-born, or eldest son, of the man who should 
dare to rebuild it — one Hiel, of Bethel, was now actually bold 
enough to do so, and, as God threatened by Joshua, so it came to 
pass, for his eldest son died. This happened five hundred years 
after the threatening was pronounced, and, most likely, this 
wicked offender laughed at it, and perhaps his son joined in his 
wickedness, and so God punished them both. It is always dan- 
gerous to be careless about God’s threatenings, and to laugh at 
any thing that is wicked. 


THE SEVENTEENTH CHAPTER OF I. KINGS. 

Elijah miraculously fed — The Widow’s Oil and Meal multiplied — 
The Widow’s Son raised to life. 

“ And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou 
art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth 
is truth.” — Ver. 24. 

God was so displeased with Ahab and Israel for their sins, that 
he sent a dreadful message to them by a prophet. The name of 
this prophet was Elijah, a Tishbite, or native of Tishbeh, a city 



beyond Jordan, in the tribe of Gad, and in the land of Gilead 
This was Elijah’s message, “ As the Lord God of Israel liveth 
before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, 
but according to my word.” Now, you know, if there is neither 
dew nor rain, nothing will grow, and so there could be no harvest, 
and, of course, there must follow a dreadful famine. 

As Ahab was a very wicked king, he would, no doubt, have 
killed Elijah, in his anger, for delivering such a message ; but be- 
fore he could scarcely recover from his astonishment, God order- 
ed Elijah to escape, and hide himself by the brook Cherith, near 
Jordan. Here God had commanded ravens to feed him, “ and 
the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread 
and flesh in the evening ; and he drank of the brook.” 

As there is sometimes a difficulty in knowing exactly, when 
creatures are named in the Bible, what particular kinds are meant, 
some have thought that God did not employ those hungry and 
unclean ravens which we have sometimes seen to feed the prophet ; 
but we know that he could do so, and these birds could not tell 
any body where he was ; however, we see that God wonderfully 
took care of the prophet, and caused him to be provided for du- 
ring the whole time that he hid himself near the brook. 

After a while the brook dried up, as there had been no rain to 
fill it, and then God told the prophet to go to Zarephath, a town 
that was near Zidon, and a widow woman, who lived there, should 
feed him. When he got to the gate of the city, he found the 
woman gathering sticks, and he asked her for some water and a 
morsel of bread. She told him she had no bread, but only a lit- 
tle handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse, or small 
cup ; and she was getting sticks to dress this last portion of food 
to keep herself and her son alive. The prophet then told her to 
make him a cake first, and then she should make another for her- 
self and son, for God would always provide meal in the barrel, 
and oil in the cruse, till the famine should be over. The woman 
saw that this was a prophet, and so she obeyed him, “ and she, 
and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of 
meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to 
the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah.” 


569 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 

This woman did not lose by lodging the prophet ; she got her 
provisions during the time of famine — but she got more reward 
still. By and by her son fell sick, and “ there was no breath left 
in him,” which means that he died. She then thought that 
God had sent the prophet to her house to punish her for her sins, 
— for perhaps she had bowed to Baal, the false god, with the rest 
of the people, and now her conscience smote her, and she felt that 
she had done what was wrong. In her distress she complained 
angrily to the prophet, and he said nothing to her but “ Give me 
thy son.” “ And he took him out of her bosom,” to which she 
fondly pressed him, like a tender mother, though he was dead ; 
and he “ carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him 
upon his own bed.” And then he prayed to God, “and he 
stretched himself upon the child three times,” to warm his cold 
body, “and the soul of the child came into him” again, and Elijah 
took him and gave him to his mother. 

She was delighted enough to see her son restored, and declared 
that it was, indeed, a proof that Elijah was a man of God, and that 
all he said, as a prophet, would come to pass. 


THE EIGHTEENTH CHAPTER OF I. KINGS. 

Baal's False Prophets exposed and slain by Elijah. 

And Elijah said unto them, “ Take the prophets of Baal : let 
not one of them escape. And they took them ; and Elijah 
brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them 
there.” — Ver. 40. 


After Elijah had hid himself from Ahab for three years, God 
ordered him to go to him again. At this time “there was a sore,” 
or afflictive “famine in Samaria,” which was as bad for Israel as 
it would be for England, if all the people could get nothing to eat 
or drink in London. 

Ahab had got a steward of his house, whose name was Obadiah. 
He was a very good man, though employed by a wicked king ; 
tor bad people sometimes like to employ those that are good, as 




570 child’s commentator. 

they can trust them better than they can those that are too much 
like themselves. This Obadiah had feared God from his youth, 
from the time when he was quite young ; and we cannot fear God too 
soon, for, as a good writer says, “ those that are good betimes are 
likely to be very good.” Among other good things which he had 
done, he had hid a hundred of the persecuted prophets of the Lord 
in a cave : and when it was difficult to get anything to eat, he had 
managed to feed them with bread and water. These prophets 
had, no doubt, borne witness against the idolatry of Ahab ; and his 
wicked wife, Jezebel, had caused many of their fellow-prophets to 
be slain. It was, therefore, very bold of Obadiah to try and save the 
rest; for, if his kindness towards them had been known, Jezebel 
would, most likely, have had him severely punished, or killed, as well 
as the rest. Obadiah had now been sent out by his master to visit 
all the spots of land by the fountains and brooks, wherever it was 
likely that there was moisture enough to make some grass grow, 
and he himself went another way for the same purpose, so that 
something might be got for his horses and mules to eat. 

In this journey Elijah met Obadiah, who knew him, and Elijah 
told Obadiah to let his master, Ahab, know he wanted to see him. 
Obadiah was, however, afraid that Elijah would be gone from the 
spot before he could find Ahab ; and, as the king had sent every 
where to seek the prophet, and even made people swear that he 
was not in their country, should Elijah now cheat him, Ahab 
would be so enraged that Obadiah had not secured him, that he 
would kill him for being so disappointed. Elijah, however, faith- 
fully promised to meet the king, and so Obadiah found Ahab, 
and Ahab went to meet Elijah. 

And Ahab said to Elijah, “ Art thou he that troubleth Israel V ’ 
Now, it was not Elijah that troubled Israel, but God troubled 
Israel for their wickedness. But if Ahab meant to say — which, 
perhaps, he also did— that Elijah was the cause of Israel’s being 
troubled, he only showed how apt wicked people are to try and 
put off the effects of their sin upon others, and to ascribe them 
to any but the real cause. Ahab was himself the cause of the 
famine, because he made Israel to sin, and this the prophet told 
him. 






Then Elijah told the king to call a general assembly of all the 
false prophets of Baal, and of the groves, in number eight hun- 
dred and fifty, who were supported by the wicked Jezebel. The 
king, having his heart, inclined to obey the prophet’s order, 
called the false prophets together at mount Carmel, four hundred 
and fifty of whom attended. 

Now, as we cannot serve sin and serve God too, Elijah spoke 
to all the people, and asked them how long they would try to 
serve both God and Baal, and pretend to love God, while at the 
command of Jezebel, they worshipped idols. And the people were 
ashamed to answer him. knowing how wickedly they had done. 
Elijah then told the prophets of Baal to get two bullocks • and to 
choose one for themselves, and to dress it — that is, slay it, and 
cut it in pieces, and lay it upon a pile of wood, but without any 
fire ; and to call upon their gods to send fire to consume it, and 
he would do the same ; and then, the God that consumed it, 
should be the people’s god ; and the people agreed to this. 

And the priests got everything ready, and they cried, “ O Baal, 
hear us !” And they leaped upon the altar, and Elijah mocked 
them, and told them to cry louder, for their god was perhaps 
talking, or running, or travelling, or sleeping. This was to show 
I that their gods were not like the God of Israel, who can always 
see and hear, and is always present in every place, and knows all 
that we say or do, and can always listen to us when we pray. 
Well, Elijah gave them all day to try what they could do, for he 
knew they served a false god, and could do nothing by praying to 
him ; but this would prove to Ahab and Israel, more than any 
thing, how foolish and wicked it was to serve Baal. And the 
priests were almost driven mad with vexation, and they even 
“cut themselves after their manner, with knives and lancets, till 
the blood gushed out upon them but all in vain. 

Elijah now called all the people around him. And he repaired 
God’s altar, and he made a trench round it to hold water, and he 
put wood on the altar, and he cut the bullock in pieces, and laid 
him on the wood ; and he ordered four barrels of water to be 
poured on the sacrifice and on the wood, and this he repeated 
three times, till the water ran round the altar, and the trench was 



t 



572 


child’s commentator. 


filled. Then Elijah prayed to God, and God sent fire from heaven, 
and it burnt the sacrifice, and it dried up every thing about it, 
even the water in the trench, as if it had been licked clean. It 
would have been wonderful if the fire had descended and consumed 
the wood even in a dry state, but it was more wonderful to see 
it doing so when everything was drenched with wet: “and when 
all the people saw it, they fell on their faces : and they said, The 
Lord, he is the God ; the Lord, he is the God !” 

Then Elijah, as God’s prophet, ordered the people to take and 
slay all the prophets of Baal, as a punishment for their wickedness 
in misleading them, for they knew very well that Baal was no 
god ; and also to prevent these wicked men from drawing them 
away from the true God any more. So they slew the false prophets 
at the brook Kishon, not because it was Elijah’s order merely, but 
because Elijah was acting as God’s servant, in executing this 
sentence; for in the thirteenth chapter of Deuteronomy, it was 
commanded that, if any false prophet led the people’s hearts from 
the true God, he should surely be put to death, that they might 
put the evil away from the midst of them. In taking them to 
the brook Kishon to slay them, they would feel how richly they 
merited their punishment, when they beheld its channel dried up, 
as were all the waters of the land, as a part of the punishment 
which, owing to their idolatry, they had brought upon a whole 
nation, whom they had deluded. 

My dear young reader, I can never remind you too often how 
angry God is with sinners ; and I can never charge you enough 
to stand in awe of him, and sin not. God does not always cut 
off sinners now by the hand of the judge, but he will certainly 
destroy them all in the last great day, unless they have now re- 
pented, and sought his mercy through Jesus Christ. Let you 
and me, on our bended knees, beseech him to pardon all our sins ; 
for, though we may not have done exactly what the prophets of 
Baal did, yet we have not loved God as we ought, I am sure of 
that; and we have sometimes loved other objects better than 
God, and that is idolatry ; and so, without his mercy and grace, 
we must be undone for ever. 

After these false prophets were removed, and the people owned 


child’s commentator. 


573 


that the Lord was their God, God sent rain to cause the fruits of 
the earth to grow. Elijah saw that the rain was coining, and as 
Ahab had had nothing to eat and drink during the day, having 
been at the sacrifice, Elijah told him to refresh himself. The 
prophet then went to the top of mount Carmel, and threw him- 
self upon the earth, and he put his face between his knees, which 
was a posture in which he prayed, and humbly thanked God for 
honouring him before all Israel. Then he sent his servant to look 
towards the sea, and observe if any cloud appeared. And when 
there was none, he sent him again and again seven times, till, at 
last, he saw one which was about as big to his eye as the size of 
a man’s hand. Then Elijah knew that the torrents of rain would 
speedily fall, and he urged Ahab to get into his chariot, and make 
all speed to get home, or he would be drenched with wet ; for the 
chariots of those days were not close like ours, but open as our 
gigs, though shaped more like shells or boats. Elijah also paid 
all due respect to the king ; and having “ girded up his loins,” or 
tucked up his long garments round his waist, he ran along before 
him, as one of his attendants, for sixteen miles, which was the 
distance between Carmel and Jezreel, the place where Jezebel 
was, and where her idolatry was practised in a high degree. 
Ahab might have asked the prophet to ride, instead of allowing 
him to be his servant ; but if he did not know how to respect 
the prophet, the prophet would not fail to show respect to him 
as his king. We must give honour to whom honour is due; for 
if bad men are raised in rank in the world, while we hate their 
wickedness, we must remember that it is God that raiseth up 
one, and putteth down another. Elijah’s conduct explained what 
is meant by “ Eear God; honour the king.” 


22 





THE NINETEENTH CHAPTER OF I. KINGS. 

Elijah's Flight from Jezebel. 

“ He arose and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which 
belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there. 

“ But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness.” 
Vers. 3, 4. 

When Ahab got home, he told Jezebel of all that Elijah had 
done, and when she heard that he had slain the false prophets, 
whom she protected, she swore by her gods that she would kill 
Elijah, and sent a messenger to tell him so. 

As in her passion she had let Elijah know what she intended to 
do, he made his escape from her, and perhaps she was glad to get 
him out of the country. He did not stop in his flight till he had 
got quite out of the kingdom of Israel, and had reached Beer- 
sheba, in the kingdom of Judah, over which Jehoshaphat reigned: 
this place was eighty -four miles from Jezreel. Here, however, he 
feared that Jezebel, in her rage, might pursue him, as her husband, 
Ahab, and J ehoshaphat, were on good terms, and so J ehoshaphat 
might not have quarrelled about pursuing a man into his terri- 
tories. Elijah, therefore, travelled yet twenty miles further, and 
reached the wilderness of Arabia or Paran, in which the children 
of Israel travelled for forty years. Here he sat himself down to 
rest under a juniper-tree, and he begged of God to let him die, 
for he was not stronger than his fathers to endure so much 
fatigue and anxiety. But God had provided an angel to feed him, 
and he awoke him from a refreshing rest, and said, “ Arise and eat. 
And he looked, and behold there was a cake baken on the coals,” 
or hot stones, after the custom of the East, “ and a cruise of water 
at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid himself down 
again.” After he had slept again, the angel once more awoke 
him, and told him to take some more food ; “ and he arose, and 
did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty 
days and forty nights, unto Horeb, the mount of God.” God 




CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 575 

made this food more nourishing than common food, and so it 
kept him alive and well for so long a time. 

Horeb was the part of Sinai where the Lord appeared to Moses 
in the burning bush ; and here Elijah hid himself in a cave. 

While he was in this place, God called to him in some way, so 
that he knew it was no human creature that spoke, and he said, 

“ What dost thou here, Elijah ?” — for Elijah did what was wrong 
in running away from Jezreel. He ought to have continued to 
reprove Jezebel, and the rest of the idolators. He forgot that God 
had protected him against all the priests of Baal, who could easily 
have killed him with their knives and lancets with which they cut 
themselves ; and he could as easily have protected him against 
the fury of Jezebel. Elijah answered the voice, and gave a sad v 
account of Israel, that they had forsaken God’s covenant and wor- 

8 shipped other gods ; that they had thrown down God’s altars, and 1 

so tried to make his true worship unknown in the land ; that they I 

had slain God’s prophets, that there might be none to reprove I 
their sinfulness ; and that he was the only prophet remaining, j s 
7 , whom they would kill also, if they could find him. <i 

The voice then ordered Elijah to go upon the mount, where I 

Moses had stood before him. And there was a great wind that j 
split parts of the mountain, and an earthquake, and a fire, by ' 
lightning, and in other ways, as have been seen in earthquakes; but 
the Lord did not speak in the wind, as he did, which we shall 
hereafter read, to his servant Job; nor did he speak in the earth- 
quake and the fire, as he did to Moses ; but Elijah heard “ a still 
small voice.” Then Elijah knew by its sound that it was nothing 
human, and he felt his soul and all around him to be very solemn. 

Under a sense of his own insignificance before God, he wrapped 
his mantle around his face as a sign of humility, for we hide our 
faces when we are ashamed — and he went and stood at the 
entrance of the cave. There God’s voice spoke to him again, and 
told him to go to the wilderness of Damascus, and to anoint 
Hazael king over Syria, and Jehu king over Israel, and Elisha to 
be a prophet ; and that each of these should be employed in 
destroying the wicked and idolatrous people in Israel. The 
voice told him, however, that he Was mistaken in supposing that 



f 



576 child’s commentator. 

he only was left to oppose Israel’s idol, for there were seven 
thousand who had not bowed the knee to Baal, nor kissed theii 
hands to his honour, as though they had kissed the idol. 

Elijah having left his hiding-place, met Elisha, who was busy 
in ploughing with twelve oxen, and he cast his mantle, or 
rather the skirts of it, over Elisha, which Elisha understood to 
mean that he was to go under his protection, and to have the same 
spirit of prophecy as himself. And Elisha begged leave to go 
home and kiss his father and mother, whom, as a good son, he 
loved and respected, and when he had told them where he Was 
going, he would follow Elijah. So he slew a yoke of oxen, and 
dressed them with the wood of the plough, and invited his friends 
to his farewell feast, and then he followed Elijah, and became his 
constant attendant as long as he lived. 


THE TWENTIETH CHAPTER OF I. KINGS. 

The War between Benhadad , King of Syria , and Ahab, King of 

Israel. 

“ And Benhadad, the king of Syria, gathered all his host together, 
and there were thirty and two kings with him ; and horses 
and chariots : and he went up and besieged Samaria, and 
warred against it.” — Yer 1. 

We now leave Elijah for awhile, and have here the account of 
the war of Benhadad, king of Syria, against Ahab, king of Israel. 
Benhadad, under some pretence or other, marched with a large 
army against Ahab, and he had thirty-two kings, or princes, 
along with him, who had each brought troops to help him from 
their little governments. 

Then Benhadad sent a very impudent message to Ahab, and told 
him that every thing he had must be considered as his. Ahab, 
fearing his large army, was willing to own himself tributary to 
him ; that is, liable to pay him what he might please to demand. 
However, Benhadad became yet more insolent, and he sent his 
messengers again, and gave him to understand that he did not 
mean that he should be tributary, but he must really give up all 


ELIJAH CASTING HIS MANTLE ON ELISHA. 







THE PEOPLE DESTROYING THE HOUSE OF BAAL. 






child’s commentator. 579 

he possessed, not only his silver and gold, but his wives and 
children to be slaves, and they must all be directly carried away. 

Ahab then called his counsellors together, who advised him not 
to give up the country to ruin : and so he sent word to Benhadad, 
that he would do what he had before promised, but he could not 
submit to such severe terms. When Benhadad heard Ahab’s 
message, he was in a great rage, and he swore by his gods, like a 
wicked heathen, that he would march into Samaria, with so many 
men, that the very dust of the city, when he had beaten it to 
pieces, should not make so many handfuls as he would have sol- 
diers to destroy it. The king of Israel made a wise answer to 
this speech, and said, “ Let not him that girdeth on his harness 
boast himself as he that putteth it off meaning, that he that 
proudly puts on his armour for battle, was never sure of the vic- 
tory, for it was not always the larger army that gained it, and 
the weak might defeat the strong. 

The proud Benhadad was extremely angry at the wise answer 
of Ahab. When it was told him, he was drinking with the 
princes in his pavilions, or tents, and he ordered his army to get 
every thing ready for an attack on the city of Samaria. 

While these preparations were making, a prophet went to Ahab, 
and told him that he should gain the victory. And, following 
the prophet’s directions, Ahab collected the princes, or governors, 
of his provinces, two hundred and thirty-two in number, and put 
himself at their head, having in reserve, or behind, seven thousand 
men. And they sallied out from the city to attack Benhadad. 

The Syrian king was still drinking till he was drunk, and when 
he was told that the men of Israel were marching towards him, 
he made quite sure that they would be conquered, and gave or- 
ders that they might be made prisoners. The Syrian army, or 
at least a part of it, met the men of Israel, and the men of Israel 
“ slew every one his man that is, they slew seven thousand two 
hundred and thirty-two men, as many as they themselves were. 
The Syrians were frightened at such a bold resistance, and turned 
their backs, and all the army ran away. “ Israel pursued them,” 
and Benhadad mounted his horse, and rode away as fast as he 
could accompanied by his horsemen. And Ahab smote the Syrian 



580 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


cavalry, both those that rode on horses, and those that rode in 
chariots ; “ and he slew the Syrians with great slaughter.” The 
Jewish historians say that he plundered their camp, where he 
found a great deal of gold and silver, and that he took their 
chariots and horses. So Benhadad paid dearly for his insolence 
towards Israel. 

When the battle was gained, the prophet told the king of Israel 
to be upon his guard, for Benhadad would return again, “ at the 
return of the year,” when the fine spring weather again came 
round, and kings were used to go to war, and that he would 
bring another large army against him ; and so it was. 

It is most likely that the little army of Israel, in order to avoid 
the chariots of the Syrians, had fought their battle on the hills, 
these chariots not being able to climb them, and so being of no 
use there. So the counsellors of Benhadad told him, that if they 
fought another time in the plain, instead of the hills, they should 
beat Israel ; their reason for this advice was, however, very fool- 
ish ; they were all heathen as well as their master, and they had a 
notion that different gods ruled over different places, and so they 
thought that the gods of the hills had fought for Israel, and that 
next time, if they fought in the plains, the gods of the plains would 
fight for them. They therefore advised Benhadad to give the 
command of his troops to brave captains, instead of the princes, 
who might know less of the art of war, and to raise another 
army of just the same number as that which had been beaten. 

Benhadad followed this advice, and marched forward to Aphek, 
one of their cities, which, it is probable, his father had taken from 
Israel, and there the two armies of Israel met him : but Ahab’s 
army was so small that, being divided into two parts, it was like 
two little flocks of kids, compared with the Syrians, whose num- 
bers covered all the surrounding country. 

A prophet again encouraged Ahab, and told him that the 
wicked Syrians thought that the god of the hills had fought for 
them before, and that the god of the valleys would not do so, but 
these wicked idolators should be undeceived, and he should again 
beat them. 

The armies faced one another for seven days, and at last they 


581 





CHILD 8 COMMENTATOR. 

fought, and the Israelites slew an hundred thousand of the Syri- 
ans, for God had given up these boasting idolators to be punished 
for their wickedness. Twenty-seven thousand yet remained who 
took shelter in Aphek, but there the city wall fell upon them, and 
they also were slain ; either the Israelites dug under some parts 
of the wall, and so caused it to fall, or God sent a high wind, or 
an earthquake, and blew or shook it down. 

Benhadad, who would have ruined Israel, was now ruined him- 
self ; and God often permits wicked people to suffer from their 
own doings, and the mischief they intended for others falls upon 
themselves. In his last extremity, he hid himself in a secret 
chamber in the city, where his counsellors, seeing that all was 
lost, advised him to let them go to the king of Israel, who was 
reported to be merciful, and they would put on sackcloth and 
ropes, in token of their humiliation, and that they deserved to be 
hanged, and they would beg for Benhadad’s life to be saved. 

The plan succeeded. Ahab, pleased enough that he was con- 
queror, would not hurt Benhadad, and was glad that he was alive, 
and called him his brother. Now he was not his brother as an 
Israelite, but only his brother king, and Ahab looked more at 
royalty than at religion ; so he spared an idolatrous king, whom 
God had given into his hands for punishment. In almost any 
other case, such kindness would have been much to the credit of 
Ahab’s disposition, but here it was wrong, as he was sparing a 
wicked king who would be a curse to Israel, and who ought to 
have been executed as a public malefactor. Ahab then sent for 
Benhadad, and took him into his chariot, and made a covenant 
of peace with him, and sent him away. 

After this, one of the prophets said to his neighbour, or another 
prophet, “ Smite me, I pray thee and because his neighbour did 
not smite him, a lion met him and slew him. Now, to understand 
this, you must recollect that God’s prophets very often spoke by 
signs, and when he commanded his neighbour to smite him, he 
ought to have remembered that it was a command intended by 
God to represent something very important. As the prophet who 
asked for the blow had done him no harm, it would have been 
very proper to refuse his request, had he been any other than a 


child’s commentator. 


582 


prophet ; but, in refusing a prophet, he disobeyed the voice of God, 
which he ought to have remembered, spoke by him. It was for 
this that he was killed by the lion, for it is a fearful thing to dis- 
obey God. The prophet then got another man to smite him, who 
made him bleed ; and then he put ashes on his face in token of 
distress, and to disguise himself ; and he waited for the king when 
he should pass along the highway, and he made out a parable for 
him — for, remember, what he said was not a lie, told with an in 
tention to deceive him, but a parable, with an intention to re- 
prove him. This makes the grand difference between a lie and a 
parable, which you might otherwise suppose to be very much 
alike. He told the king that he had been in battle, which he had 
not ; and that a man was committed to his keeping, which was 
not true ; and that he was to forfeit his life, if he let the man go ; 
i and that he did let him escape ; and so he hoped the king would 

! get him out of his difficulty. . The king, so far from this, gave 
him to understand that he had condemned himself by his own 
£ story, and so, for letting the man go he must take the conse- 


quences. Now, you will see that, though this was not true as it 
respected the prophet, it was true enough as a parable ; for, under 
this story, the prophet stated the case of the king, into whose 
hands God had delivered Benhadad, the enemy of Israel, but, in- 
stead of securing him, he had let him escape. “ Thus saith the 
Lord,” added the prophet, “ Because thou hast let go out of thy 
hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy 
life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people.” Ahab 
did not like this reproof, and so “ went to his house heavy and 
displeased.” 



583 



child’s commentator. 

THE TWENTY-FIRST CHAPTER OF I. KINGS. 




Naboth robbed of his Vineyard, and murdered by Ahab and Jezebel, 

A And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 
“ Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in 
Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither 
he is gone down to possess it. 

“ And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, 
Hast thou killed, and also taken possession ? And thou shalt 
speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, In the place where 
dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, 
even thine.” — Vers. 17 — 19. 

Great riches do not always make men contented and happy ; 
poor men are often more happy than princes. Only they who truly 
love and serve God can, after all, be called truly happy. Ahab had 
saved all his dignity and wealth, and even got more by the spoils 
taken from the king of Syria ; but no sooner was he freed from 
the troubles of war, than his mind became dissatisfied, because he 
could not get possession of a small piece of ground near his palace 
in Jezreel, which was a vineyard of Naboth, and which he thought 
would make a nice kitchen-garden. He did, indeed, offer Naboth 
the choice of a better vineyard for it, or its value in money, but 
Naboth refused, because the people of Israel were commanded, 
by God’s law, not to sell their lands from their family, or tribe, 
except in cases of great poverty — and Naboth was not a poor man 
— and, even then, the sale was not to be for more than forty -nine 
years at the most. (Lev. xxv. 23, 28.) 

Ahab was very much vexed that he could not get the vineyard, 
and he went home and threw himself upon the bed, and would not 
eat, just like a poor peevish child that has been disappointed of 
some toy, or prevented in having some improper wish gratified. 

Then Jezebel, his wife, asked the reason of his sadness, and he 
told her. “ Dost thou now' govern the kingdom of Israel ?” said 
she, then “ I will give thee the vineyard.” Meaning that he had 
nothing to fear about any w r ay in which he might get the vine- 
yard, so he obtained it. 





584 child’s commentator. 

So she contrived a wicked plan to ruin Naboth. She wrote 
letters, in Ahab’s name, to all the chief rulers of Jezreel, and 
sealed them with the king’s seal, which made them of the same 
consequence as if he had written them himself ; and she told them 
to proclaim a fast, which was under a pretence that something 
evil existed in the land, for which they were to mourn ; and when 
they were assembled, with Naboth amongst them, some men were 
to be ready who should swear that Naboth had blasphemed God 
and the king. Two witnesses would be enough by the law to 
prove him guilty, and then, by that law, he must instantly be 
stoned to death, and for his pretended words against the king, his 
property would be forfeited to Ahab, and so he would not only 
get the vineyard, but all that he had. 

Now, as Israel, and especially Jezreel, was in a very idolatrous 
state, it was easy to find bad rulers to obey these wicked com- 
mands of this most wicked queen ; and two children of Belial, — 
or worthless, lawless, abandoned creatures, which is what the 
name means, — swore falsely against poor Naboth, who was in- 
stantly taken away and stoned to death. 

As soon as the news reached the queen, she told the king, and 
he went directly to take possession of the vineyard. But though 
he had succeeded in his wickedness so far, God had looked at what 
was doing all the while, and he ordered Elijah to go and meet 
him in the vineyard. As soon as Ahab saw Elijah, he said, 
“ Hast thou found me, O mine enemy ?” Why, how did he 
know that he was his enemy ? He might have been commanded 
to tell him something good. But Ahab’s conscience told him he 
had done wrong; and Elijah told him that God would punish 
him for this crime, and that the dogs should lick up his blood, as 
they had that of the innocent man whom he had caused to be 
killed. He also told him that all his family should be cut off 
like the families of Jeroboam and of Baasha, because he had been 
more wicked than even they were, and that “ the dogs should eat 
Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel,” where she had been so cruel and 
so wicked. 

Ahab was now alarmed, and rent his clothes, and clothed him- 
self in sackcloth, and fasted, in token of grief and repentance 



i - 



child’s commentator. 


585 


and walked softly about, pacing with slow steps, as one who was 
melancholy. And though he had been so wicked, God spared 
him all the evil that was to come upon his house ; but it came to 
pass entirely in his son’s days, who was nevertheless deserving 
of what he suffered, for following all the wicked and idolatrous 
ways of his father. 


THE TWENTY-SECOND CHAPTER OF I. KINGS. 

Ahab killed in Battle. 


11 And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king 
of Israel between the joints of the harness.” — Ver. 34. 

After Ahab made his covenant with Benhadad, they remained 
I at peace for three years. It was probably agreed at that time 
that Ramoth-Gilead should be restored to Israel, but Benhadad 
had not kept his word. This made Ahab very angry. Jehosha- 
',J phat, the king of Judah, being on a visit to Ahab, Ahab asked 

( him if he would join him in going to war with the king of Syria, 
in order to take this city, which, by agreement, belonged to him. 
Jehoshaphat agreed, and said, “ I am as thou art, my people as 
thy people, my horses as thy horses meaning that both he and 
all that he had, were at his service for the purpose. 

Jehoshaphat, was, however, a very pious king, and he did not 
like to go to battle till he knew whether it was right ; so he ad- 
vised Ahab to ask counsel of God. Ahab directly called together 
four hundred of his false prophets, and asked them if he should 
do right in going to Ramoth-Gilead. And they, willing to please j 

the king, who, as they knew, strongly wished it, said to him, “ Go I 

up ; for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king.” 

This was like the prophecies of false prophets, spoken in such 
a way that it was difficult to know whether the battle should be 
won or not, or which king should win it. However, it seemed 
to lean on the side of Ahab, and he liked the answer very well, 
and interpreted it as he wished it to be. 

Jehoshaphat was not quite satisfied. He most likely knew the* 






57 


586 


child’s commentator. 


the prophets which had been collected were not prophets of the 
Lord, and so he asked if there were no other prophets whose ad- 
vice could be taken. And Ahab said there was another certain- 
ly, one Micaiah, but he hated him, for this prophet never prophe- 
sied any thing good for him. (See 2 Chron. xviii. 7.) This was 
a prophet who had before reproved him for his sins, and wicked 
men do not like to be reproved for sin. It was, however, very 
foolish of Ahab, ..to. blame a faithful prophet for speaking what 
God told him ';' ‘but wicked men like to have their own course 
against all good counsel, and so they seek their own ruin ; and 
this was the case with Ahab. 

Ahab, at Jehoshaphat’s wish, sent for Micaiah, who is thought 
at the time to have been in prison for his former boldness to the 
king of Israel. And now the two kings sat on thrones in great 
state near the gate of Samaria, and heard what all the prophets 
had to say. “ And Zedekiah, the son of Chenaanah, made him 
horns of iron,” in imitation of the manner of the true prophets, 
who prophesied by signs, and he told Ahab that he should push 
his enemies as with those horns till he had destroyed them. And 
all the prophets said, “ Go up to Ramoth-Gilead, and prosper : 
for the Lord shall deliver it into the king’s hand.” 

The messenger who fetched Micaiah told him what the false 
prophets said, and advised him to say the same. However Micaiah 
could only say what God impressed on his mind, and he would not 
deceive the king. Yet, as he knew that the king would only follow 
the advice of the false prophets, he repeated their words, “ Go and 
prosper ; for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king.” 

The king saw that he did not speak the words of God, but was 
only ridiculing him and his prophets, and he was angry, and de- 
sired him with authority to tell him the truth. Micaiah then did 
so, and told him that he saw all Israel scattered like sheep on the 
hills, that have no shepherd to lead them. Though Ahab had de- 
sired him to speak nothing but the truth, and was angry wheh 
he spoke the exact words of the false prophets, he was now angry 
that he had prophesied evil things ; for he saw that the scattered 
sheep meant that Israel were to be defeated, and that their being 
without a shepherd, meant that he, Ahab, was to be slain. And 


587 



child’s commentator. 

he turned to Jehoshaphat, and told him he expected some ill-na- 
tured prophecy from Micaiah. Then Micaiah spoke a parable, 
and told him he saw a council in heaven. And the Lord asked 
his angels who should go and deceive Ahab, that he might 
fall at Ramoth-Gilead. And after different opinions had been 
given, a spirit came and said, I will go, and I will be a lying 
spirit speaking by Ahab’s prophets. Micaiah told him, moreover, 
that God had allowed these wicked prophets to deceive him. 

Then Zedekiah smote him on the cheek, and insulted him on 
his prophesying ; and the king ordered him to be sent back to 
prison, and to be kept on bread and water till he returned. 
Micaiah again warned him, and told him if he returned safe, then 
God had not spoken by him. 

Being hastily bent on having his own way, Ahab went to battle, 
and Jehoshaphat went with him. However, he seems to have had 
some fears lest what Micaiah said might come true, and so he dis- 
I guised himself and advised Jehoshaphat to wear his royal robes. 

I In giving this advice, he appeared to do honour to Jehoshaphat, 
but, in reality, he was treacherous to him, and put him into the 
danger which he feared himself, hoping that, if a king was to be 
killed, Jehoshaphat, having a royal dress, would be sure to be 
marked instead of himself How stupid he must have been to 
suppose that, when God said by his true prophet he should fall, 
such an artifice could be of any service to him ! But he was just 
like all wicked people, who, when God’s word tells them they 
are doing wrong, and their consciences are afraid that what he 
threatens against sin and sinners will, at last, overtake them, still 
pursue their evil courses, till it is too late to repent. 

The king of Syria gave particular orders to his people to look 
for the king of Israel, and to fight with him, for he thought that 
if he were either killed or taken prisoner, the whole army would 
be thrown into confusion. As he was disguised, they mistook 
Jehoshaphat for him, and had nearly killed him, till he cried out, 
and they found that he 'ftas the king of Judah, and not the king 
of Israel. It was strange that they neither attempted to kill or 
take him, though he was fighting against them, but “ turned back 
from pursuing him.” You see how dangerous a thing it is to be 



588 



child’s commentator. 

in bad company. The pious Jehoshaphat had nearly been slain 
by being mistaken for the wicked Ahab. “ My son, if sinners 
entice thee, consent thou not.” 

With all his cunning and caution, Ahab could not escape. Ben- 
hadad’s captains and soldiers could not, indeed, discover him in 
his disguise, but God permitted an arrow that was not shot at him 
in particular, to give him a mortal wound. This was the more re- 
markable, as the arrow was not only not aimed at him any more 
than at any other soldier, but he being covered all over with ar- 
mour, or, as we say, quite cased in it, there were but two or 
three places where he could be hit to be mortally wounded ; and 
just in one of those places the arrow entered. “ A certain man 

drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between 

the joints of the harness,” or one of the places where a piece of 
\ the metal armour fitted with another piece. 

| Finding himself wounded, Ahab desired the driver of his war- 

1 chariot to take him out of the thickest of the battle — most likely 

j 3 that he might have his wound dressed — and then, being propped 

2 up, he continued sometime longer on the field, while both sides 

I fought furiously. By the evening he died, “ and the blood ran out 

of the wound into the midst of the chariot.” The army were or- 
dered to withdraw from the field, and they all marched home, 
and, as it had been a severe battle, the Syrians did not pursue 
them. Ahab was buried in Samaria. And now what s?as 
threatened by the prophet took place ; he had said, “ Thus saith 
the Lord, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, shall 
dogs lick thy blood, even thine.” “And one washed the chariot in the 
pool of Samaria ; and the dogs licked up his blood ; and they washed 
his armour ; according unto the word of the Lord which he spake.” 

Nothing more is sai<bof Ahab than that he built an ivory nouse ; 
or, more properly, a house inlaid with ivory ornaments in its 
wood- work. Ahab was succeeded by his son Ahaziah. 

Jehoshaphat, of whom we have just read, was the son of the 
pious Asa ; he began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of 
Ahab’s reign. This reign lasted twenty-five years. “ He turned 
not aside from doing that which was right in the eyes of the 
Lord,” and he turned many of the wicked people out of the land. 



chixd’s commentator. 


589 


Jehoshaphat did wrong in joining with the wicked Ahab in 
battle, and we see he suffered for it ; he also did wrong in joining 
Ahaziah, his wicked son, in making a fleet to fetch gold from 
Ophir, for the fleet was wrecked ; he, however, refused a second 
time to have any thing to do with Ahaziah, and would not let 
any of Ahaziah’s seamen go with his in a new fleet which he 
seems to have built When we see plainly that we have done 
what is displeasing to God, we can never act more wisely than 
Jehoshaphat did in not doing it again. We should always avoid 
forming any sort of alliance with the wicked, it will be sure 
to do us some harm. 

Ahaziah began to reign over Israel when Jehoshaphat had 
reigned nearly seventeen years over Judah. His reign was very 
short, being only two years. He was as wicked as his father, 
though he saw to what his wickedness had brought him,' in dis- 
obeying God’s voice by his prophet ; and he walked in his fa- 
ther’s ways, and in those of his wicked mother, Jezebel, and wor- 
shipped the idol, Baal, and so provoked God. We shall read 
his sad end in the next Book of Kings. 








EUSHA PARTING THE WATERS. 


















\ \ 





ELIJAH FED BY RAVENS 







THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS, 

OE, 

THE HISTORY OF THE KINGS OF JUDAH AND ISRAEL. 




THE FIRST CHAPTER OF II. KINGS. 

Sickness and Death of Ahaziah , and Destruction of a hundred of 
his Soldiers by Fire from Heaven. 

“ So he died according to the word of the Lord, which Elijah had 
spoken.” — Ver. 17. 


I told you, in the last chapter, that Ahaziah succeeded his fa- 
ther Ahab, as king over Israel, and that, like his father, he was a 
very wicked man, and that, in this Book of Kings, we should 
learn how he died. 



CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


694 

It appears thai his reign was disturbed, and that Moab rebelled 
against him — that is, refused to pay a tribute which had been 
paid from the times of David, when “ the Moabites became Da- 
vid’s servants, and brought gifts.” 

It was while he was thus troubled by the Moabites that a yet 
greater trouble came upon him, for he “ fell down through a 
lattice in his upper chamber, that was in Samaria, and was sick.” 
He either trode on some fine wood-work, made to let in light by 
the ceiling of a chamber below him, when he was walking on the 
roof, or he leaned against some fine rail-work on the top of the 
house, and so fell over, and hurt himself severely. 

Now we may see what kind of a man he was, for, instead of 
asking God to cure him, or to bless the means used for his cure, 
“ he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, inquire of Baal- 
zebub, the God of Ekron, whether I shall recover of this disease.” 
It does not, indeed, appear that he thought this fancied god 
could cure him ; however, he was foolish enough to suppose that 
he could tell him whether he should get well or not. But who 
was this Baal-zebub ? An idol worshipped by the wicked Philis- 
tines, who lived in Ekron, a part of the country belonging to that 
people. The people are supposed to have thought that this god 
had a particular ability in driving away flies, with which, it is 
believed, Ekron was infested. However, this was so detestable 
an idol, that, in the New Testament, his name or one nearly the 
same (Beelzebub) is given to Satan himself. 

While the king’s messengers were going to Ekron, God sent an 
angel to Elijah, the prophet, to tell him to go and meet them ; 
and to ask them whether it was because there was no God of whom 
they could inquire in Israel, that they were going to Ekron. 
Elijah also told them, in a particular manner belonging to the 
prophets, addressing the king as though he were there, “ Now, 
therefore, thus saith the Lord, Thou shalt not come down from 
that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.” In 
the Eastern countries, the beds were placed in a sort of gallery, 
railed in, and so they were got into by steps ; this explains the 
threat, “ Thou shalt not come down.” 

The messengers quickly returned, and Ahaziah, wondering why 


child's commentator. 


595 

they had come back so soon, said, “ Why are ye now turned back V 
Then they told him what had passed between them and Elijah, 
but they did not know who Elijah was. However, they said, he 
was a Dairy man” — most likely wearing a garment made of 
camel’s hair, as the prophets sometimes did ; and that he was “ girt 
with a girdle of leather about his loins.” And, from his message, 
and their description of his dress, as Ahaziah had seen him before, 
in his fathers court, he said, “ It is Elijah the Tishbite.” 

So the king sent a captain with fifty men to go after him, and 
seize him. hen they came within call of him, he was sitting on 
the top of a hill, and they spoke in a ridiculing way to him, and 
&neered at him as a man of God ; just as wicked people sometimes 
sneer at good people now, and call them good names as well as 
bad ones in a way of mockery; or make sport of them as saints, 
or sanctified people, or praying people. Ton may think it strange 
that any should laugh at people for serving God, but it has always 
been so, and it always will be so, in this wicked world; only in 
Heaven people will serve God without being ridiculed ; for there 
the wicked cannot enter. Well, these soldiers mocked Elijah, 
and said, ” You man of God there, the king orders you to come 
down, and go with us directly for that was the meaning of their 
words, ** Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down.” This 
was not the way to speak to one of God’s messengers, especially to 
a pruphet like Elijah. So Elijah said words in reply, which meant 
as much as to say, ” Well, since you ridicule me as (rod’s prophet, 
vou sh:il I know whether I am or not, by fire coming down from 
heaven, and consuming you.” Then lire came from heaven — 
most likely a flash of lightning — and killed them all on the spot. 
Aow, Elijah did not punish the men in anger because they had 
insulted him ; indeed, he could not do it — God alone could send 
the fire; but he spoke as God’s prophet, because they had 
insulted God , and, as God sent the lightning, it was he who 
punished the wicked soldiers as he threatened by his prophet. 

Whether the king was impatient at the delay of the soldiers, 
and so sent others, or whether he was more enraged at Elijah for 
the loss of his men, and so resolved more firmly that he would 
have Him is not certain ; however, he sent fifty more men, who 




596 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


behaved in the same way, and met with the same punishment. 
See how dangerous it is to obey the commands, and to imitate 
the words and ways, of the wicked. 

The wicked king was still determined that he would take 
Elijah, and so he sent yet a third company of fifty soldiers to 
apprehend him. The captain obeyed the king’s orders, and went 
to Elijah, and when he saw his hundred comrades all lying dead 
around him — which he must have done — he did not dare to 
mock, but he fell on his knees before Elijah, and entreated 
for mercy. 

Elijah now, being ordered by an angel, went down to the king, 
and, as soon as he saw him, he repeated to him the word of God 
which he had sent before by the messengers. “So he died ac- 
cording to the word of the Lord, which Elijah had spoken. And 
Jehoram reigned in his stead.” This Jehoram was brother to 
Ahaziah, he having left no son to reign after him. There was 
also another Jehoram who afterwards reigned in Judah, and who 
was the son of Jehoshaphat. 


THE SECOND CHAPTER OF II. KINGS. 


Elijah taken 


to Heaven in a Chariot of Fire — Children who 
mocked Elisha killed by Bears. 


“And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.” — Ver. 11. 


The prophet Elijah had done much for the honour of God, and 
God has said, “ Them that honour me, I will honour.” “ Enoch 
walked with God” by keeping in his ways, “ and he was not, for 
God took him” — not as he takes us, by death, but he took him to 
heaven without dying. So God honoured Elijah in the same 
way. But before he was to leave this world, Elijah visited the 
schools of the prophets at Bethel and Jericho. He would have 
had Elisha leave him, that he might ascend to heaven unper- 
ceived, not wishing to appear proud of the honour God was going 
to bestow upon him, for good men always abhor pride. Elisha, 



child’s commentator. 


597 




however, went with him from place to place, where he was asked, 
by the other prophets, if he knew that Elijah was going to heaven 
that day ; and he said he knew it. 

After visiting Bethel and Jericho, they came to the river Jor- 
dan. Here fifty of the sons of the prophets, who had followed 
them six miles from Jericho, stood at a distance to see if they 
could behold Elijah’s ascent into glory. 

When Elijah and Elisha came to the water, Elijah folded up 
his robe and smote the stream, and the river divided, so that he 
and Eiisha passed over on dry ground, just as the Israelites had 
done before. 

Then Elijah asked Elisha if he had any particular favor to ask 
before he left him, and Elisha wished for a double portion of 
Elijah’s spirit. What he meant was this : Elijah, as a prophet, 
had a remarkable spirit of piety, and knowledge, and courage, 
given him by God ; and, as he might serve the cause of God, 
even more than Elijah, if he had twice his abilities, he wished to 
be so favoured. Israel were still very wicked, and Elisha hoped 
that, with this double portion of Elijah’s spirit, he might the 
better reprove and withstand their wickedness. 

Elijah said it was a hard or difficult thing that Elisha asked, 
and one not commonly bestowed ; but, if God should permit Elisha 
to see him ascend, it would be a proof that he was pleased with 
him for what he asked, and so he should have it. 

“ And it came to pass, as they still went on and talked, that, 
behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and 
parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into 
heaven.” I cannot attempt to explain this, and so I have given 
the account exactly in the words of Scripture. Whatever this 
chariot was, looking like fire, it is evident that it did not burn or 
hurt the prophet— so that its bright appearance was only to show 
that Elijah was going in a glorious way to a glorious place. 

Elisha saw this glorious ascent, and this encouraged him to 
hope for the double portion of Elijah’s spirit. And he cried, “ My 
father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof!” 
by which he is supposed to have meant that Elijah’s counsels and 
prayers were as much defence to Israel, as an army of war 





\ 





598 


child’s commentator. 


chariots and horsemen. When Elijah was gone he began to feel 
his loss, and he took his clothes, and, as a sign of grief for losing 
so great and good a prophet, he “ rent them in two pieces.” 

The mantle of Elijah fell from him, and Elisha took it up, and, 
as Elijah had smitten Jordan and divided the waters with it, 
Elisha tried to do the same, and called out while he was trying, 
“ Where is the Lord God of Elijah*?” — meaning, “ Now let God 
divide these waters by me, his prophet, as he did by Elijah ;” 
for it was not the mantle nor the prophet that divided the waters, 
but God did so when the prophets looked to him to bless the 
sign they used. “ And when he had smitten the waters, they 
parted hither and thither.” This miracle was seen by the sons 
of the prophets from Jericho, and when they saw that Elisha 
passed over dry land in the middle of the river, they knew that 
God had given him Elijah’s power, and they met him, and paid 
him reverence as a great prophet of God like Elijah. 

Then the sons of the prophets wished much to go and seek for 
the body of Elijah, which, they supposed, might have been left on 
some high mountain, while his spirit went up to glory. This 
was not unreasonable, for they knew that the body returned to 
dust, while the soul of the good man went to God, and, there- 
fore, they wished to find Elijah’s body, and bury it with all pos- 
sible respect. Elisha refused, at first, to let them go, but, at 
last, as they pressed him very much, he gave them leave. How- 
ever, after searching three days, they could not find the body ; 
and, indeed, how could they, for Elijah did not die like other 
men, but was taken at once, body and spirit, into glory. 

Seeing that Elisha had now the spirit of Elijah, who had worked 
miracles, or done things which no skill of man can do, the sons 
of the prophets at Jericho complained that, though their city was 
very pleasant to look at, yet their water was very bad, and their 
ground brought nothing to perfection. This barrenness was, 
most likely, because J ericho had been built again, as we have 
before read, in spite of the curse pronounced against it by 
Joshua, the servant of God. 

So Elisha took a cruise, and put a little salt into it, and then 
went to the spring whence the waters flowed, and cast the salt into 


child’s commentator. 599 

the spring, and told the sons of the prophets that the waters were 
now pure ; and, in future, they need not fear to drink them, for 
they would not produce disease or death, as bad water did ; 1101 
should they complain of their fruit failing, for these waters should 
now strengthen all the trees. “ So the waters were healed.” Salt, 
you know, will make water unpleasant to drink, but here it was 
the contrary, and this showed that it was a miracle, and that the 
prophet had a divine power to make salt produce sweet water. 

Elisha went next to visit the sons of the prophets at Bethel. 
Before he reached the town, it was known he was about to enter 
it, and some wicked children — perhaps set on by wicked parents 
— went out of the city to meet Elisha, and to laugh at him. Even 
now, you know, wicked children will sometimes mock good chil- 
dren, and even good men, and ministers of Jesus Christ. Elisha 
seems to have had a bald head, and they thought this would do to 
laugh at, and so they cried, “ Go up, thou bald-head ; go up, thou 
bald-head !” Some think that they meant to make fun of Elijah’s 
going to heaven, and so they cried thus, signifying, “ Go along 
with you, after your master Elijah, and don’t come here, you 
bald-headed fellow.” 

Now, even if Elijah had not been a prophet of God, this be 
haviour would have been very rude, and as wicked as it was rude, 
for we ought never to laugh at any defects of body which people 
may have about them, but, if they are bad, we should rather pity 
them. 

Elisha gave them a look of rebuke, and then, as God’s prophet, 
he “ cursed them in the name of the Lord.” This means that he 
pronounced God’s curse upon them, for it would have been wicked 
for him to have cursed them in the way in which bad men curse 
people, and which can only do harm to themselves. This was, 
therefore, not in rage and revenge, for Elisha would not then have 
acted like a good man. As soon as he had spoken, “ there came forth 
two she-bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of 
them.” Observe, these were she-bears, and probably had young 
ones, and so were more ferocious than he-bears. They might hear 
the noise of these wicked children mocking Elisha, and so they 
came out to get some prey j but still God so ordered it that the 





€ 


600 


child’s commentator. 


mockers might be punished, as a warning both to their wicked 
companions and to all young persons in future times, not to make 
a sport of sacred things. 

After this the prophet returned to Samaria, the chief city of 
the kingdom of Israel, where there was much idolatry, and where 
he was to oppose the wickedness of the people. 


THE THIRD CHAPTER OF II. KINGS. 

Israel miraculously supplied with Water, and the Moabites 
defeated. 

“ And when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose 
up and smote the Moabites, so that they fled before them ; 
but they went forward, smiting the Moabites, even in their 
country.” — Ver. 24. 

We have before read that Jehoram, the brother of Ahaziah and 
son of Ahab, now sat on the throne of Israel. Jehoram was not a 
good man, but he was better than his father, as “ he put away the 
image of Baal, that his father had made” for the people to wor- 
ship, but he still worshipped calves as Jeroboam did. 

Moab, you remember, was forced by David to pay taxes to 
Israel. When Ahaziah died, we told you that the Moabites had 
rebelled. Taxes were then often paid in cattle, which were valu- 
able. “And Mesha, king of Moab, was a sheep-master ;” he 
kept a great number of sheep, “ and rendered unto the king of 
Israel a hundred thousand lambs, and a hundred thousand rams 
with the wool.” 

This tribute was thought by Jehoram to be too valuable to lose. 
So he numbered all his soldiers, to see how many he could raise 
against Moab. And he asked J ehoshaphat, the king of Judah if he 
would join him, and help him, which Jehoshaphat agreed to. 
Then they set off, and took the king of Edom also along with 
them. They had to travel seven days, and they could find no 
water, so that the army and cattle had nearly died of thirst, for 
want of wells. 



I 


The king of Israel was now very much frightened, and knew 
not what to do. The good king Jehoshaphat, however, helped 
him out of his difficulty, by asking if he had not a prophet of the 
Lord to direct him. Now, it so happened — or, rather, God had 
so ordered it to save this army — that Elisha had followed the 
king, and one of the king’s servants told him he was there : 
“Here,” said he, “ is Elisha, the son of Shaphat, which poured water 
on the hands of Elijah” — meaning that he had been an attendant 
upon Elijah, and so poured water on his hands as those who waited 
on their superiors used to do. So the kings went to Elisha. 

And Elisha spoke very roughly to the king of Israel, and told 
him that if the good king Jehoshaphat had not been with him, he 
would have said nothing to him ; but he might have asked his 
own false prophets to direct him, and so have perished. Oh, it is 
a happy thing to be a companion of them that fear God ! 

Elisha then called for a minstrel — one that was used to play on 
a harp and sing psalms to it — and so his mind became composed 
to wait for what God should impress upon it. 

Then he told the kings to employ the soldiers to dig ditches all 
about the valley where they were, and though they should hear no 
wind to bring clouds with it, and see no rain falling, yet the 
ditches should be all filled with water, enough for the whole army 
and the beasts. Then he told them that God would defeat Moab, 
and they were to punish this wicked people, and destroy their 
cities, their trees, and their wells of water, and cover their land 
with stones, so that it could not be ploughed for any thing to 
grow upon it. 

The Moabites now gathered a large army, and stood on the 
borders of their land to defend it ; and early in the morning, as 
they were watching the motions of the king’s armies, they saw 
the reflection of the sun upon the water in the ditches, and, as it 
looked very red, they mistook it for blood, and made sure that 
the kings had quarrelled, and that their armies had slain each 
other ; so, without giving themselves time to think, they agreed 
to go directly and share the spoil. 

Then they all hurried, in disorder, to the camp of Israel, when 
the Israelites fell upon them, and slew them, and pursued them to 
23 


n 


602 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


!” It | 
; but I 
imong j 


their own country. And they pulled down their cities ; and they 
strewed stones, perhaps the stones of the houses, on the fields ; 
which, being done by every man, soon covered them enough to 
spoil them for the plough ; and they put dirt into the wells, and 
cut down the good trees, and left but one place untouched, named 
Kir-harasath, which, however, was knocked down by machines. 

The king of Moab was desperate, and he tried to break through 
that part of the army where the king of Edom was, taking with 
him seven hundred choice men, but he could not succeed. 

Then, in order to get his idol, Chemosh, to help him, he even 
took his own son, heir to his crown, and offered him up for a burnt- 
offering, foolishly supposing that his false god would then be 
pleased, and that he should be able to beat Israel, against whom 
he and his people were now in a great rage. 

You cry, “ What a barbarous thing to offer up his son 
was indeed, and makes one shudder at the thought of it 
such cruel deeds have been, and still are, common among 
idolators. 

You read, indeed, of God’s commanding Abraham to offer up his 
son Isaac for a burnt-offering ; but then this was only to try if he 
would be willing to do all that God commanded him, even to the 
sacrificing of his son, and he did not let him do it. God is not a 
being who delights in the blood of men, though they often seem, 
by their cruel acts, to take delight in shedding each other’s blood. 
His command is, “ Thou shalt not kill.” 

But all the nations that have not served God have been 
very cruel, and they have offered up human creatures, that 
is, killed them on their altars, that their blood might be the 
means, as they fancied, of getting pardon for the sins that 
they knew they had done, and of bringing blessings upon 
them. The people called Ethiopians, or Africans, used to sacri- 
fice boys to the sun, and girls to the moon, and they now often kill 
great numbers of innocent men for sacrifice. The Scythians, or 
old Russians, used to sacrifice every hundredth man of their pri- 
soners taken in war, as a sign of thanks to their gods. The 
Egyptians killed red-haired men as an acceptable sacrifice to one 
of their gods : and they used often to sacrifice a beautiful young 






^ TV r 


child’s commentator. 


603 


woman to their river Nile, as a sign of gratitude to the river for 
watering their lands ; they dressed her up very richly, and then 
flung her into the stream, where she was drowned, or, more likely, 
devoured by that horrible creature, the crocodile. The Persians 
used to bury people alive in honour of their gods. The Gallic 
Druids — a set of priests who lived a very long time ago in France 
— used to set up an immense and tall figure of a man, made of 
wicker-work, and twisted it round about as many as a hundred 
human victims, and then consumed the whole as an offering to 
their gods. And the Druids, who lived at that time in England, 
more especially in the Isle of Anglesea, used constantly to sacri- 
fice the prisoners they took in war. The Athenians used to sacri- 
fice a man every year, after having first loaded him with curses, 
that, as they supposed, the wrath of God might fall upon his head, 
and so take it away from them. The Carthaginians, a people who 
lived in Africa, were even known to have offered two hundred 
victims at one time ; and so cruel were they in their sacrifices, 
that it was usual for the father to slaughter the most beautiful of 
his children, or those he loved best, because he thought that 
sacrifice would best please his cruel god. The Danes, on one 
occasion, sacrificed ninety-nine slaves. Two hundred children 
were sacrificed at once, in Peru, for the health of one great per- 
son, which, it was fancied, would be gained by the wicked act ; 
and the Mexicans used to have thousands of victims. Only a 
few years ago, the South Sea Islanders used to sacrifice men, but 
the preaching of the Gospel by the missionaries, has caused them 
to throw away their wooden gods, and to destroy their bloody 
altars. But, to this day, some African nations kill their prisoners ; 
some people, in the East indies, fatten human victims for slaugh- 
ter j and some even eat their criminals and prisoners of war as a 
religious act. This is done now in Polynesia. Had you been 
born among some of these people, you might have been butchered 
in your childhood, or in your youth, or left to suffer all these 
cruelties as a man or woman. 

How much ought you to thank God that you are born in a 
Christian land, where these things are abhorred, and where we 
learn to be kind to each other ! 



604 child’s commentator. 


\bove all, how ought you to bless God that you know where 
to look when you feel yourself a guilty creature and in need of 
mercies. Not to the sacrifices of sinful creatures like yourself, 
but to that dear Saviour who gave himself up to die as a criminal, 
taking our place in which we deserved to stand, that by his “ one 
offering ” we might, through faith in him, obtain pardon and ac- 
ceptance with God, and everlasting blessedness. 

“ Jesus, my Saviour, died, 

I trust on him alone ; 

No sacrifice beside 
Could for my sins atone. 

With heart and soul, I’ll love and praise 

My gracious Saviour all my days.” 


THE FOURTH CHAPTER OF II. KINGS, 

Various Miracles by Elisha. 

The Widow's Oil multiplied — The Shunammite promised a Son , 
and that Son afterwards brought to life — The deadly Pottage 
made good — A hundred Men fed with twenty small Loaves. 

“ Behold, now I perceive that this is an holy man of God.” — Ver. 9. 


Elisha had a double portion of Elijah’s spirit ; and the power 
God gave him of working miracles, was often used by him to do 
good to those who were in trouble. In this chapter we have 
several instances of his kindness. 

A poor widow of one of the sons of the prophet had been left 
by her husband, not only without money, but in debt. This 
would have been wrong in him if his debts were carelessly in- 
curred ; but it was most likely that he had been among the prophets 
persecuted by the wicked Jezebel, and so deprived of support. 
Now when people owed money, at that time, they were not only 
obliged to give up what they had to pay it, but even their 
children to be sold for slaves. This poor widow had two sons, and 
the creditor, or person to whom she owed money, as she had 
nothing left to pay, came to her and demanded her sons. The poor 
widow loved them too well to part with them ; but what could 



Ik 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


605 


she do, as she could not pay the debt ? In her distress she thought 
on Elisha, and ran to him with her tale. Elisha kindly said, 
“ What shall I do for thee 1 Tell me, what hast thou in the house ?” 
The poor woman had only a pot of oil, and that would not pay 
the bill. Elisha then told her to go and borrow ever so many 
empty vessels — pots, or anything else she could find— and to 
shut herself up with her two sons, and keep pouring the oil she 
had as long as it would run, and she would find all the vessels 
full. And when she had filled them, he told her to go and sell 
the oil, and pay her debt, and she would then have oil left for 
herself and sons to live upon, as oil was, and still is, an import- 
ant article of food in that part of the world. 

How I should have liked to have seen this poor widow after the 
prophet had enabled her to pay her bill, by God’s help, for he 
could not have done this of himself. I dare say her face looked 
quite delighted, and her sons were happy enough not to be taken 
away from so affectionate a mother. We cannot work miracles, 
like Elisha, but how many wounded hearts may we heal by doing 
good to the poor ! May God always make us tender-hearted, as 
he is tender-hearted towards us ! 

In his journeys to visit the schools of the prophets, Elisha often 
passed through a place called Shunem. After the hospitable 
manner of the country, a rich lady, who lived there, seeing him in 
want of refreshment and rest, invited him to her house, and, hav- 
ing received a hearty invitation to look in whenever he passed 
that way, he often called upon her. She soon found out that he 
was a prophet, and saw that he was a good prophet. She, there- 
fore, begged her husband to build him a little chamber for his own 
use, where he might be undisturbed by the family when he pass- 
ed that way ; and she would have it furnished with a bed, and a 
table, and a stool, and a candlestick, so as to make it quite com- 
fortable for him. And the chamber was built and furnished, and 
Elisha, and his servant, Gehazi, used to lodge there. 

Elisha was very grateful for this kindness, as we ought always 
to be for any kindness shown to us. And he desired his servant 
to ask if he could do any thing to serve the family, and procure 
any place of honour and profit from the king for the kind lady’s 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


606 

husband. And then he asked her himself, but she had quite 
enough — and was contented with what God had given her. Oh, 
how happy are they who are like this Shunammite — contented 
with what God has given them ! — for if some people have ever 
so much, they are always wanting more. 

Gehazi, however, thought that if God gave her a son in her old 
age, who should inherit her property, she would be glad ; and as 
from that son might spring the Messiah — the divine Saviour — 
which every Israelite hoped would spring from his family, such 
a blessing would be valued. So, no doubt, the prophet prayed 
to God, and God sent her a son. 

When this little boy had grown up sufficiently to go to his fa- 
ther into the fields, he was out, one harvest day, among the reap- 
ers, when he was taken very ill, and he ran to his father, and 
cried, 41 My head, my head !” His father ordered a lad to carry 
him directly to his mother. She fondly took him up on her knees 
and tried to comfort him ; but he had not been long there before 
he died. How many little children, like this little boy, have 
been well in the morning and dead at noon ! Little children die ; 
little children ought, therefore, to be prepared for heaven. How 
are they to be prepared ? Nothing will prepare them but a new 
heart. They must have their evil inclinations taken away and 
better given them in their stead, and so they will have, as it 
were, a new heart ; and they must have their sins against God all 
pardoned by trusting in Jesus Christ as the only Saviour of sin- 
ners ; and when they can do so, they will die happy and be hap- 
py for ever ! 

When this Shunammite lost her son, she laid it on the pro- 
phet’s bed, and had her beast saddled, and rode in haste to his 
dwelling, at Mount Carmel. Elisha saw her as she was coming, 
and sent Gehazi to ask her if any thing was the matter, and she 
answered, “ It is well.” You must not suppose that this was an 
untruth, for, as she was a pious woman, she was sure that what- 
ever happened to her it was well, and that God would make it to 
turn out so at last. 

However, when she got to the man of God, she told him all that 
had happened to her j but she was too much grieved to speak at 



first, and only fell at his feet and clung to his knees. Gehazi 
would have taken her away, hut Elisha desired him to let her 
alone, for he saw that she was grieved. The Shunammite then 
gave him to understand that her child was dead. Elisha instantly 
desired Gehazi to take his walking staff, and to bind up his long 
garments round his waist, and set off to the dead child, and to 
make all the haste he could ; so that if he met any persons he knew, 
he was not even to waste an instant in speaking to them ; and, when 
he should reach the Shunammite’s house, he told him he must lay 
his staff on the face of the child. But the Shunammite was not 
satisfied that the servant went alone, and earnestly begged of the 
prophet that he would go with her. Elisha then kindly granted 
her request. In the meantime, Gehazi did as the prophet had 
told him; but the child did not recover. On arriving at the 
house, Elisha himself went into the chamber, and, shutting the 
door, he prayed, “ and he went up and lay upon the child, and put 
his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his 
hands upon his hands, and he stretched himself upon the child, 
and the flesh of the child w^axed warm. Then he returned and 
walked in the house to and fro, and went up and stretched him- 
self upon him ; and the child sneezed seven times, and the child 
opened his eyes.” Elisha, having restored the boy, gave him to 
his mother, who fell at his feet to express her gratitude, as she 
had before done to express her grief ; and she took up her child, 
and went out of the chamber with her heart thankful and glad. 

We next find Elisha at Gilgal, when there happened to be “ a 
dearth in the land,” or a famine, owing to the dryness of the 
ground. 

The sons of the prophets being assembled to receive his instruc- 
tions, he ordered that some pottage, or broth, might be got ready 
for them to eat. And one went out to gather some herbs to put 
in the pottage ; and, by mistake, he brought in a lap-full that 
were poisonous. After they were cut into the pottage, and boil- 
ed, he poured out for the young men to eat ; but, as soon as they 
tasted it, they cried out that it was poisoned — “ there is death in 
the pot” — if we eat any more we shall die. 

Elisha then called for a little meal, and put it into the pot, and 







60S 


child’s commentator. 


the poisonous and bitter taste was gone ; and they ate of the pot 
tage, and it hurt none of them. Not that the meal made the pot- 
tage better, but God helped the prophet to work this miracle, to 
show, as he had shown before, that Elisha was a man of God ; 
and so they had sign upon sign. 

Elisha, also, did another miracle while he was teaching these 
sons of the prophets. He received a small present of twenty 
barley loaves and some ears of corn, which he desired should be 
given to the young men to eat. Now- there were as many as a 
hundred there, and this would be nothing amongst them ; and so 
his servant told him. However, he desired him to give them to 
the people ; and they all ate and had plenty, and some was left. 
So God honoured his prophet Elisha. 


THE FIFTH CHAPTER OF II. KINGS. 


Naaman , the Syrian Captain , cured of Leprosy by Elisha. 


“Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, 
according to the saying of the man of God ; and his flesh came 
again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.” — 


Ver. 14. 


We have now to relate a very interesting story. 

The chief commander of the Syrian army was a great officer, 
like one of our generals, covered with honours on account of 
his victories ; his name was Naaman. But this man, with all his 
greatness, had that terrible disease the leprosy, so that, most pro- 
bably, nobody liked to touch him, and, as an old bishop once said, 
“ the basest slave in Syria would not change skins with him.” 

There is no doubt but Naaman tried every possible way to get 
cured, but all help was in vain. However, God so permitted it, 
that one of the plundering parties of the Syrians had entered the 
territories of Israel, and had carried off a little girl as a prisoner, 
and she was obliged to be a slave to Naaman’s wife, and to wait upon 
her. War was always a cruel practice : this poor little girl was 



NAAMAN’S WIFE AND HER MAID 











ELIJAH RESTORING THE WIDOW’S SON. 



CHILD 8 COMMENTATOR. 


taken away from her dear parents, and friends, and country, and 
sold for money, to be the constant slave of this heathen woman ; 
for we must suppose that those who captured her, got something 
for her, as was the usual custom. This little maid, though a slave, 
did not hate^her master for buying her ; but patiently submitted 
to the lot which God had appointed for her ; she w r as more happy 
in her slavery than Naaman in all his greatness, for she was not a 
leper, while he was, and she knew the prophet of the true God, 
while he knew nothing about the God of Israel. Her heart w as very 
kind, and when she saw. her master suffering under his leprosy 
from day to day, and no one able to cure him, she said to her 
mistress, “ Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in 
Samaria ; for he would recover him of his leprosy.” This little 
girl was kind even to her enemies, and wished to return them 
good for evil. She knew all about the prophet, where he lived, 
and what wonderful things he did ; how unlike her are some 
children who know nothing about the ministers of God, or what 
God does by them ; but have their heads filled with mere idle 
nonsense. Her knowledge proved a great blessing to her master, 
and all good servants who really know good things, and practise 
what they know, must be great blessings to their masters too. 

As soon as Naaman was told about what the little maid said, 
he told his royal master, who directly wrote a letter for him to the 
king of Israel, supposing that he could as well cure his general as 
the prophet could. Naaman now set off, and took with him some 
presents of silver and gold, reckoned at least worth twenty-three 
thousand dollars of our money, and some suppose, worth above 
seventy thousand dollars, — and also “ten chapges of raiment/’ 
so that the present was very great. Health is very valuable, 
though many throw it away on pleasure and sin, but, when they 
have lost it, they would readily give all they have to recover it. 

Naaman, on his arrival at the Israelitish court, presented his 
letter to the king, in which Naaman’s master said, he had sent his 
servant to him to cure him of his leprosy. When the king of 
Israel had read it, he burst into a great rage, and rent his clothes, 
as the Jews did when they heard or read any thing that was 
blasphemous, and he asked, “ Am I God, to kill and to make 


CHILD’S COMMENTATOR. 


612 

alive 1” He also thought the letter was meant to insult him, 
and to make a quarrel. Elisha, however, soon heard of what, 
had happened, and he sent to the king, begging him to let 
Naaman go to him, and he should soon know there was a pro- 
phet in Israel that could cure him. ( 

Then Naaman went in a very stately way to the dwelling of 
the prophet, “ with his horses, and with his chariot, and stood at 
the door of the house of Elisha.” So Elisha sent out to him to 
tell him to go and wash seven times in the river Jordan, and he 
would be well. When Naaman heard this, he was extremely an- 
gry, for he thought the prophet would have waited upon him 
himself, and have waved his hand over his leprosy, and called 
upon his God, and so have cured him. Besides, there were ri- 
vers in Syria far better, in his opinion, than the river Jordan. 

And he was going away quite disgusted, when his servants re- 
spectfully told him that the remedy was very simple, and he 
might as well try it. So he was persuaded, and went and did as 
the prophet told him, and was cured. 

Naaman was, nevertheless, grateful when he was cured, as we 
all should be for any kindness done to us, — for he returned to the 
prophet, told him that he was now sure that the God of Israel 
was the only God in the world, and begged him to accept of his 
presents. Elisha, however, refused every thing, for he thought 
God would be more honoured if the cure were wrought without 
pay. God’s servants are always desirous of honouring him, even 
if they make a great sacrifice to do it ; for the money would have 
been very useful both to himself and the other poor prophets. 

Naaman now asked leave to take away a little of the earth of 
the land of Israel, that he might build an altar to the Lord with it, 
for he resolved in future to worship no other god but the God of 
Israel. He could as well have built the altar of any other earth, 
but he now loved the very soil of the country in which he was 
cured, though he had before thought so meanly of its waters. 

As Naaman resolved to worship God only, he did not know 
what he should do when he got back to his own country, and at- 
tended his royal master in the house of Rimmon, the idol which 
he worshipped ; and he hoped that, as his heart w r ould no longer 


child’s commentator. 


613 


be engaged in the wicked service, God would pardon his attend 
ance on his master. This was not right, for he ought rather to 
have lost his master’s favour, than to have so much as appeared 
to worship an idol ; however, he had just begun to learn his reli- 
gion, and so the prophet was not angry with him, but, in pity to 
him, told him to go home in peace. 

Naaman had not gone far before he was overtaken by Gehazi, 
the servant of Elisha. This man thought within himself that his 
master might as well have taken some of the presents which he 
had refused ; and as he would not have them, he wished to get a 
share himself, which he supposed Naaman was now in a humour 
freely to give. But, as his master had refused, what story could 
he tell if he asked for the money 'l — why, he invented a lie. 
Naaman saw him running after him, and got out of his chariot to 
know the reason. Then he told him that two young sons of the 
prophets had just arrived, and he had come to ask for a talent of 
silver and two changes of raiment for them. Naaman would 
make him take two talents, worth thirty-five hundred dollars, 
and two changes of garments, and he made his servants carry them 
for him. When they got to a tower which was at the entrance of 
Samaria, he stowed the articles away in a house, and sent back 
the men. Now, he thought that all was snugly done, and that he 
might buy olive-yards, and vine-yards, and sheep, and oxen, and 
men-servants, and maid-servants, with the money, and become 
quite great. But while he was dreaming in this foolish way, and 
flattered himself that the prophet knew nothing about what he 
had done, Elisha knew all about it ; and when he went, as usual, 
to wait upon his master, Elisha asked him where he had been ! 
He had told one lie, and, like wicked children who tell one lie, he 
had now another ready to try and cover the first, and he said, “ No 
where.” Why, said Elisha, “went not my heart with thee,” — 
that is, did I not know, “ when the man turned again from his 
chariot to meet thee 1” Is it a time to enrich thyself now, when 
a heathen has been brought to the knowledge of God, and wouldst 
thou gain by such an event as that ? So he told the wicked 
man that he should have Naaman’s leprosy as a punishment, 
“ and he went out from his presence a leper, as white as snow.” 



My dear young readers, we are all lepers, like Naaman, but 
not on our skins ; our leprosy is worse, and lies in our hearts. It 
is the foul disease of sin that infects us. This makes us all as un- 
clean before God as Naaman was before men. Who, then, can 
cure us 1 There is “ a fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness.” 
What Jordan’s waters did for Naaman’s leprosy, the precious 
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ can do for our disease — it can 
cleanse us from all sin. But we must go, by faith, to the Saviour, 
we must seek him in prayer, and if we so seek him, not once, 
but seven times, or many times, if it be seventy times seven, 
God will take away the stains of sin from our souls, and we shall 
be made holy and unblameable before him, “ not having spot, or 
wrinkle, or any such thing.” 




K/ 


THE SIXTH CHAPTER OF II. KINGS, (TO VER. 23 .) 

An axe made to swim by Elisha — The King of Syria's secrets told 
by Elisha — The Syrian Army smitten with Blindness and led 
into Samaria by Elisha. 

“ Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel 
with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my 
camp. And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, say- 
ing, Beware that thou pass not such a place, for thither the Sy- 
rians are come down.” — Ver. 8. 


Elisha gave so many proofs that he was an extraordinary prophet, 
that large numbers of the sons of the prophets flocked to him for 
instruction, so that there was not room for them at Gilgal, where 
Elisha used to live. The young men, therefore, proposed to go to 
Jordan, which was about six miles off, and by every one cutting 
a beam from the trees which grew upon its banks, they thought 
they could soon build a new house large enough to hold them all. 
Customs were then different from what they are now with us, and 
the young prophets knew how to build as well as to study. Elisha 
approved of the plan, and so they set off, and began to work. 



615 



child’s commentator. 

“ But as one was felling a beam, the axe-head fell into the water ; 
and he cried and said, Alas, master, for it was borrowed !” Some 
people do not care about what they borrow, and often never return 
the things that are lent them, but this is not honest ; this good 
man was quite of a different feeling, and he was grieved to lose the 
axe which he had borrowed, for he could not repay it. Elisha 
then asked him to show him the place where the axe was thrown 
in ; and then he cut down a stick and threw it after it, and, lo, 
the iron swam ; and he got his axe again. Now you know that 
iron will not swim, but sink ; but this was a miracle, a thing done 
contrary to the usual order of things ; and it was another proof, 
added to those before given, that Elisha was a man of God, one 
on whom he had bestowed extraordinary power. 

Elisha’s miracles were not yet done. The king of Syria raised 

J an army against Israel, and advised with his counsellors about 
the best spots for fixing his camp, and making inroads upon the 
country, so as to plunder it. However, every time he marched 
to any place, he found that the Israelites were aware of him. 

1 3/ This made him suspect his people of treachery. At last, one of 

them, who had heard of Elisha’s exploits, told him that he could 
easily make it out how Israel happened to know all the king of 
Syria intended to do, for there was Elisha the prophet in Israel, 
who could let his king know all that passed, even in the king of 
Syria’s bed-chamber. 

The king of Syria then sent a large army to surround Dothan, 
where Elisha then was, and to take him prisoner. This was very 
foolish, for if Elisha was not the cause of his plans being found 
out, it was of no use ; and if he was the cause, why then the pro- 
phet would as easily know that he intended to capture him, and 
so get out of his way. 

One morning early, Elisha’s servant being up, was astonished 
to find the city surrounded with Syrian soldiers. In his fright ha 
ran to his master, and told him, and cried out, “ Alas, my mas- 
ter !” for he thought they would certainly be taken or slain by such 
a great host. Elisha then prayed to God to open the eyes of the 
man’s understanding, to see how well he was protected ; and he 
saw a host of angels all around, looking like horses and chariots 



616 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


of fire. The Syrians then descended from a mountain, and ap 
proached the city, and Elisha prayed that God would smite them 
with blindness, or, at least, make their eyes so dim that they 
would be unable to distinguish any object clearly. God heard 
Elisha’s prayer. Then the prophet went himself to the army, and 
told them that the prophet was not in the city, which was true, 
for he had now come out of it — and, if they wanted to know the 
way to the place where he was to be found, he would lead them 
there. So he led them to Samaria : and then he prayed again 
that God would open their eyes, and lo, they were in the midst 
of the capital of Samaria, surrounded by people and soldiers 
enough to cut them all to pieces. The king then asked the pro- 
phet if he might kill them, but the prophet would not let him, for 
he had only taken them there to show them how foolish they 
were : besides, it would have looked very treacherous, after he 
had promised to lead them ; so he got them kindly treated, pro- 
cured bread and water to refresh them, and then sent them away 
to their master, glad enough to escape. 


THE SIXTH CHAPTER OF II. KINGS, (FROM VER. 24,) AND THE 
SEVENTH CHAPTER. 

The Siege of Samaria. 

“ And it came to pass after this, that Benhadad, king of Syria, 
gathered all his host, and went up and besieged Samaria.” — 
Ver. 24. 


The Syrians seem to have had a great enmity to the Israelites. 
Though they had been shown, not long before, how foolish it was 
to make war against a people whom God so wonderfully pro- 
tected by his prophet; and though they had been treated so 
kindly by Elisha, and the king and people, at Samaria, which 
ought to have made them friends rather than enemies ; we here 
find them suddenly surrounding Samaria, which had, perhaps, 
been short of provisions ; and so laying siege to it to starve the 
people to surrender. 


child’s commentator. 


617 


As the people of Samaria could not get out of the city to obtain 
provisions from the fields or other places, the famine was great 
among them ; they even ate asses, whose flesh was reckoned un- 
clean, and not fit for naan’s food ; and these creatures becoming 
scarce, so many having been killed, an ass’s head, with the little 
meat it afforded, was at last sold for a large sum of money. Some 
think the value of the Jewish pieces given for the ass’s head was 
thirteen dollars, others say thirty dollars, and others say it was 
as much as fifty dollars. There was also a very poor sort 
of peas, called fitches, or lentiles, which somewhat resembled 
dove’s dung, and a fourth part of a cab of these, which was 
about half a pint, was sold for three or four dollars. The cab 
was a measure holding about a quart. 

But there was still a worse proof of the distress of the people 
for food. The king was passing along the wall of the city, giving 
his orders for its defence, when a woman implored his help, consi- 
dering herself as wronged by another woman. The case was this : 

— they had nothing to eat, and agreed by turns to kill their poor 
infants and eat them. So this woman killed hers, and it was 
eaten up ; but when she asked the other woman to kill hers, she 
refused, and hid it, either wanting to keep it for herself, or shud- 
dering at so cruel and wicked a deed. The king thought at first 
that the woman wanted food from him, and asked, “ Whenee shall 
1 help thee ? out of the barn-floor, or out of the wine-press ?”• — 
meaning, that there was no corn in the barns, and no wine in the • 
presses, and so she could have nothing. But when he heard what 
she had done, he rent his clothes in great agony ; and when they 
were torn, the people saw that he was dressed underneath in 
sackcloth, or rough cloth, which was a sign of his distress for his 
people, and of his humiliation before God. 

People may, however, wear signs of humiliation, and not be 
humble. God looks at the heart, and not at the garb. The king 
knew that Elisha was God’s prophet, and, therefore, he ought to 
have reverenced him ; but you will now see how he acted. He, 
supposing that Elisha had brought all the suffering upon the city, 
resolved to cut off his head that very day. So he sent a man to 
execute his terrible threat. Elisha being told in his mind, by a 





618 child’s commentator. 

revelation from God, knew that the man was coming, and told 
some of the elders who were with him what was intended ; he 
then ordered them to secure the door, and stop till the king him- 
self should come, which he would do ; for, said he of the man, 

“ Is not the sound of his master’s feet behind him 1” — that is, Is 
not the king also following him 1 

Then Elisha said, “Behold, this evil is of the Lord; why 
should I wait for the Lord any longer ?” — meaning, as it is thought, 
that the time of deliverance for Samaria now drew nigh, and j 
therefore he would pray no more for it, but wait to see how God 
would answer his prayers, which he would do directly. 

Then Elisha prophesied, that, on the next day, instead of fam- 
ine there should be such plenty that a measure of fine flour, hold- 
ing more than a peck, should be sold for silver worth about fifty- 
five or sixty cents, and double the quantity of barley for the I 
same money. What a difference, when half a pint of a misera* j 
ble sort of pea had fetched at least three dollars ! 

The king heard this prophecy, and a nobleman on whose arm ( 

the king leaned would not believe it possible that such good H 

news could be true. “ Aye,” said he, “ if God should open win- | 
dows in heaven”— meaning, if he should rain down the flour and 1! 

barley, then we may have it. “ Well,” said Elisha, “ it shall be | 

as I have said ; you shall just live long enough to know it, but I 
not to partake of the plenty.” See how wicked it is not to be- 
lieve God’s word, for this was not the word of Elisha, but the 
word of God spoken by Elisha. 

Now there happened to be four men who had the leprosy so 
very bad that they were not allowed to enter into the city ; some 
think these were Gehazi, Elisha’s wicked servant, on whom i 
Naaman’s leprosy rested, and Gehazi’s sons. These lepers were 
starving, and they said, It is of no use to try to go into the city, 
for there we shall get no food, and if we stay here we shall die ; 
so let us try if the Syrians will help us, for they have food enough, 
and if they kill us, why we shall but die at last. 

The lepers then went to the camp of the Syrians, and it was in 
the dusk of the evening ; but when they got there, how surprised 
were they to find that not a man remained ! The fact was, that 



CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


619 


God had made the Syrians to fancy that they heard the noise of a 
very large army approaching them ; supposing that the king of 
Israel had got some other kings to help him, and that they were 
marching suddenly upon them to cut them to pieces, they all fled 
for their lives, and left every thing they had behind them — tents, 
horses, asses, food, silver, gold, raiment ; and, indeed, a vast trea- 
sure. The lepers now ate and drank plentifully, and then began 
to secure some of the treasure for themselves, and hid it. But they 
forgot for some time, that, while they were enjoying themselves, 
their countrymen in Samaria were starving. So they said, “We 
do not well, we ought to tell the good news to the city, and, if 
we do not, something bad may happen to us.” They did not know 
but that the Syrians might return and kill them ; or the king of 
Israel would soon find them out, and be angry with them for not 
telling him what had happened ; or God might punish them for 
delaying to save their brethren. So they hastened to the senti- 
nel who kept guard at the city gates, and the news was soon told 
to the king. 

The king directly got up, and consulted with his courtiers about 
what he should do. “ This,” said he, “ is only a trick of the 
Syrians ; they are not far off ; they have, most likely, hid them- 
selves somewhere in the fields close by, and when we go out they 
will fall upon us.” Some of his counsellors then proposed to send 
out some horsemen to see if the Syrians were really gone, and their 
advice was taken. It was proposed to send out five horsemen, but 
there were only two horses remaining, and those chariot-horses, 
used for drawing and not for riding ; the rest were either in a 
starving state or eaten. Two horsemen, therefore, set off, and 
went as far as Jordan, over which the Syrians had to pass, and 
they found they were gone, and that all the road was strewed 
with garments and vessels, which, in their flight, they had thrown 
away, supposing the enemy was at their heels. 

The messengers now returned and told the king, “ and the peo- 
ple went out and spoiled the tents of the Syrians ;” — that is, they 
took for spoil all that the Syrians had left ; and they had left so 
much food, which they had provided for their men, that “ a mea- 
sure of fine flour was sold for a shekel,” or a little more than 



620 child’s commentator. 

half a dollar, “ and two measures of barley for a shekel, according 
to the word of the Lord.” So you see God’s word came true 
which he spoke by Elisha. 

But what became of the nobleman who would not believe it 1 
Why the king gave him charge of the city gate to keep order, 
and prevent the rush of the people, eager to get food ; and, in 
doing his duty, the crowd was so great and in so much hurry, 
that he was pushed down and trampled to death. So he saw the 
quantities of food brought in by the people, but never tasted any 
himself, just as Elisha had told him. 


THE EIGHTH CHAPTER OF II. KINGS. 

Benhadad , king of Syria , murdered by his servant Hazael. i 

“ And it came to pass on the morrow, that he took a thick cloth, 
and dipped it in water, and spread it on his face, so that he 
died ; and Hazael reigned in his stead.” — Ver. 15. | 

When the famine was about to take place in Samaria, the pro- j 
phet Elisha told the woman of Shunem, who had been so kind to \ 
him, that she had better go out of the country into the land of 
the Philistines, and so escape from the general distress for want 
of food. 

She took his advice, and went, and remained seven years. 

When she returned, she found her land in the possession of 
other persons, who would not give it up, and probably denied 
that it belonged to her. So she went and cried to the king to 
help her to get it again. 

It happened, just at that moment, that the king was talking 
with Gehazi, Elisha’s old wicked servant, who was smitten with 
the leprosy, and he was asking him to tell him about some of the 
miracles which the prophet had done. And he was then speak- 
ing of the child which Elisha had restored to life. As soon as 
Gehazi saw the Shunammite, he recollected her ; and so her 
coming at the moment showed the truth of what Gehazi had been 
telling the king about the prophet, and gave proof to the king 












BOAZ AND RUTH 



CHILD’S COMMENTATOR. 


623 


that this was the very person who owned the house and land 
which she now wanted again. Some people would sny this was 
very lucky for the Shunammite, but it is more proper to say it 
was providential — the providence, or care of God over her con- 
cerns, so ordered it that she might not be cheated out of what 
belonged to her. No doubt, as a good woman, she had first 
prayed to God to help her, and he now heard her prayers. 

So the king ordered the house and land to be restored, and all 
the profit that had been made upon them during the time of her 
absence. 

Elisha, in his journeys, went to Damascus, the chief city of 
Syria, and at that time Benhadad the king was sick. Like all 
sick people, he wished much to know if he should get well ; and 
he sent Hazael, his chief captain, to inquire of the prophet. So 
I Hazael went, and took with him a number of presents, according 

j) to the custom of the East, which is continued to this day. And 

jl he said to the prophet, “ Thy son, Benhadad, king of Syria, hath 

S sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of this disease ?” — not 

fi that Benhadad was the prophet’s son, but it was a respectful way 

I of speaking in use, when a prophet was addressed. Elisha told 

Hazael that his master might recover of his disease, but still he 
should die. And he looked at Hazael till the officer was 
ashamed, or stared him out of countenance, as we say, as though 
he would search his very heart ; and then “ the man of God 
wept.” 

Hazael asked him why he wept. The prophet then told him 
that he foresaw he would do a great deal of harm to Israel, and 
be guilty of very great cruelties in killing men and women, and 
dashing the little children to pieces, which might be done against 
the rocks, stones, walls, and pavements ; and he meant by this 
that he would have power in Syria, and would go to war with 
Israel. Then Hazael answered the prophet, “ Is thy servant a 
dog, that he should do this great thing ?” By which some sup- 
pose he meant, “ Do you suppose I could act so much like a 
brute ?” Though others think, with some reason, that he rather 
meant, “ What ! shall such a man as I am, not of royal blood, 
be raised to power enough to do such things ?” ‘‘Yes,” said the 


i 



624 


child’s commentator. 


prophet ; “ the Lord hath showed me that thou shalt be king 
over Syria. 

So Hazael went home, and he told the king that the prophet 
said he would recover : which was not true, for he had only said 
that he might recover of his disease, and yet he should die ; but 
Hazael said nothing about that. 

The next day Hazael took a wet cloth, and laid it on his mas- 
ter’s face under the pretence of cooling his fever, and Benhadad, 
being weak, could not throw it off, and so he was smothered. 
It is probable that Hazael meant to murder him, though some 
think he did not mean to kill him, but, according to a custom 
of the East, tried this means to do him good. It is, however, cer- 
tain from what afterwards happened, that he was a very cruel, 
hard-hearted wretch, and was quite capable of murdering his mas- 
ter ; of whose throne he got possession after he had killed him. 


THE NINTH CHAPTER OF II. KINGS. 

Jehu anointed to he King of Israel — Joram and Ahaziah slain — 
Jezebel killed. 

“ Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I have anointed thee king 
over the people of the Lord, even over Israel. 

“ And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may 
avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood 
of all the servants of the Lord, at the hand of Jezebel.” — Vers 
6 , 7 . 


At this time, Joram, or Jehoram, the son of Ahab, and brother 
of Ahaziah, still reigned in Israel; and Jehoram, the son of 
Jehoshaphat, reigned in Judah. He was thirty-two years old 
when he began to reign, and reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 
He married Athaliah, the daughter of wicked Ahab, and was led 
into the practice of idolatry. 

Edom had been obliged to pay taxes to Judah ever since the 
time of David, a space of one hundred and fifty years ; but the 
people now rebelled, and elected a king of their own. 


CHILD'S COMMENTATOR. 


625 


Joram, the son of Ahab, had now reigned twelve years, and 
Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram of Judah, reigned in Judah. He 
began to reign at twenty-two years of age, and reigned only one 
year; for “ he went with Joram, the son of Ahab, to the war 
against Hazael, king of Syria, in Ramoth-Gilead ; and the Syri- 
ans wounded Joram:” and Ahaziah went to Jezreel, where he 
was lying sick, in order to comfort him. 


At this time Jehu was commander of the forces of Israel, and 
God ordered Elisha to send a young prophet to him, and to pour 
oil on his head, and inform him that God had chosen him to be 
king over Israel, that he might cut off all the wicked house of 
Ahab, which, both in Judah and Israel, were now equally guilty 
of idolatry. 

Some of the other captains had seen the young prophet come 
to Jehu, and wished to know what he wanted. Then Jehu told 
them ; and though they were not good men, and did not like the 
prophet, yet God turned their hearts towards Jehu, and they 
spread their garments under him in token of his dignity, and 
blew their trumpets, and cried, “ Jehu is king.” 

Jehu then ordered that no soldier should enter Jezreel ; so that 
the news might not reach the two kings who were there. Then 
he took his chariot and went to Jezreel. As he approached with 
his company, a watchman on the tower spied him out, and Joram 
sent a horseman to ask what the news was, and whether peace 
was made. But Jehu told him he had nothing to do with peace 
or war, but to go behind him, and follow him. As he did not 
return, a second was sent ; and, when he did not return, Joram, 
accompanied by Ahaziah, each in his chariot, went out to meet 
Jehu ; for they now saw, by his furious driving, who was coming, 
Jehu being a very rash man. 

As soon as Joram saw Jehu he cried out, “Is it peace, Jehu ?” 
Jehu then reproached him with his idolatry, and told him, “ No.” 
Joram’s heart instantly failed him, and he turned round to es- 
cape, and said to Ahaziah, “ There is treachery, 0 Ahaziah !” At 
that moment Jehu drew a bow, and shot the arrow right through 
Joram’s heart, “ and he sunk down in his chariot.” 


626 



child's commentator. 


, 


I 


Then Jehu told his captain, Bidkar, to throw Joram’s body intc 
the ground which had belonged to Naboth, and which was close 
by ; for, said he, when I and thou rode in attendance upon his fa- 
ther Ahab, the Lord laid this burden, or passed this sentence 
upon him— which he did by Elijah the prophet — for his cruel 
robbery and murder of Naboth to get his vineyard, and now the 
sentence is executed : “ Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of 
Naboth, and the blood of his sons, saith the Lord ; and I will re- 
quite thee in this plat, saith the Lord.” 

Thus what God threatens against the wicked, comes to pass ; 
and as surely as he punished the wicked family of wicked Ahab, 
so will he at last, if not in this life, punish all wicked persons, 
whether children or men. 

When Ahaziah, the king of Judah, saw that his companion was 
slain, he fled, and Jehu ordered his servants to smite him also in 
his chariot, which they did, and he fled wounded to a place called 
Megiddo, and died; and his servants took him away, and buried 
him in Jerusalem. 

Thus two wicked kings perished, both being of the house or 
family of Ahab, and walking in his wicked ways of idolatry. 
Jehu was ordered, as God’s executioner, to destroy the whole 
house of Ahab ; and Ahaziah’s mother being of that house, he 
was one of the corrupt stock, and following bad advice, walked in 
the same evil courses. 

The wicked queen Jezebel, of whom you before read, was still 
alive. She had lived through three reigns, but now God’s sentence 
against her also must be executed. You remember that she was 
the wife of Ahab, and that she had urged him on to do many 
wicked things ; for “there was none like unto Ahab, which did 
sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, whom 
Jezebel, his wife, stirred up.” It was she who set up the worship 
of Baal ; it was she who slew the Lord’s prophets ; it was she 
who planned the murder of Naboth to get his vineyard ; well, 
therefore, might Jehu call her “ a cursed woman,” for the curse 
of a just God rested upon her head, who had, by her wickedness, 
been a curse to Israel. 

When Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel painted her face, and 




dressed herself up, to awe him by her show and dignity. And then 
she began to provoke him, and asked him if Zimri had peace who 
had murdered his master. This was just the way to bring God’s 
sentence upon her. Jehu directly asked the servants, who at- 
tended her, if they were on his side, and, if so, to throw her out 
of the window. So wicked a woman could not be a good mistress, 
and perhaps some of them hated her, and so helped to obey Jehu’s 
order, though their motive was wrong ; but others, perhaps, were 
haters of her idolatry, and were now glad to see her power coming 
to an end. In a few moments the proud queen was hurled head- 
long from the window, and her brains were dashed against the 
wall and the pavement, and her body trampled upon by horses, 
and afterwards eaten by dogs ; nothing remained of her but “ the 
skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands.” Thus was God’s 
sentence executed which he spoke by Elijah, as recorded in the 
twenty-first chapter of the First Book of Kings, “ The dogs shall 
I eat Jezebel, by the wall of Jezreel.” 

{ 

4 

THE TENTH CHAPTER OP IL. KINGS. 

1 I AhaVs seventy Sons slain. 


“So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, 
and all his great men, and his kinsfolks, and his priests, until 
he left him none remaining.”— Yer. 11. 


As God had appointed Jehu to destroy all the house of Ahab 
that were in Israel, he still proceeded with his dreadful work. 
Ahab had seventy sons and grandsons, for they are often called by 
the same name. These were in Samaria, a strong city, and under 
the care of guardians who might there have defended them. Jehu, 
therefore, wrote to them to prepare one of the sons for king of 
Israel, if they chose to contend with him, but told them they must 
fight for it. They were, however, all afraid ; God had put fear in 
their hearts, and they sent Jehu word that they would serve him. 
Jehu then demanded, as a proof of their loyalty, that they would 





CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


destroy all the sons of Ahab under their care. This seemed a 
dreadful sentence ; but as they were doubtless all idolaters, train- 
ed up in the wickedness of their father and grandfather, and might 
have yet disturbed Israel by claiming the throne, and again have 
made Israel to sin by idolatry — they must also be cut off. 

See what a dreadful thing it is to be the wicked children of 
wicked parents. Thank God if you are not so, and if you and 
your parents both fear God and serve him ; for, “ Who shall 
harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good V 7 

So the seventy sons of Ahab were slain ; and their heads were 
cut off, and put in baskets, and sent to J ehu, to show they were 
really dead. 

After this Jehu destroyed every portion of Ahab’s house that 
he found in Israel ; and all Ahab’s priests of Baal. 

Ahaziah’s house also, being related to Ahab, and having fallen 
into his sin, were likewise destroyed, and God threw them remark- 
ably into the way of Jehu ; for, as he was riding about, he met a 
body of forty-two distinguished persons whom he did not know, 
and he inquired who they were ; they, not knowing what had hap- 
pened, said that they were relations of Ahaziah, the friend of Jo- 
ram, and were going to pay their respects to the family of the 
king and queen — the wicked Jezebel. Jehu then directly seized 
them, and had them slain, and so these idolaters were also cut 
off! Surely “it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the 
living God !” He is good, and kind, and forbearing towards all 
men ; but obstinate sinners must at last perish ; sometimes in this 
world, but certainly in the next ; and dreadful will be their end, 
who live and die in breaking his laws. 

God approved of all that Jehu had done, for he had been the 
executioner of a vile race of idolaters ; but still he kept the golden 
calves which Jeroboam had set up, supposing them a good thing 
to prevent the Israelites from going into J udah to worship God in 
his temple there. God therefore punished Jehu, and the people of 
Israel, by allowing their enemies to encroach upon their borders, 
and to cut their inhabitants to pieces, and so “ in those days the 
Lord began to cut Israel short.” God, however, promised to re- 
ward Jehu for the good he had done in destroying idolatry, and 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


629 


that his children and great great grandchildren, called here the 
fourln generation, should, for these services rendered to him. sit 
upon the throne of Israel. God never forgets to reward those who 
serve him ; and if he rewarded Jehu, who, in doing these things, 
was forwarding his own ambition, how much more will he re- 
ward the “ works of faith, and labours of love,” performed by 
those who trust in his mercy, and delight in his service ! 

Jehu reigned twenty-eight years; was buried in Samaria, and 
succeeded by his son, Jehoahaz. 


THE ELEVENTH CHAPTER OF II. KINGS. 

Usurpation and Death of Athaliah. 

M And when Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, saw that her son 
was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal.” — 
Ver. 1. 


We now, for a while, leave the affairs of Israel, to see what 
was done in Judah on the death of Ahaziah. 

Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, was a sister of wicked Ahab, 
and possessed the same wicked spirit. As soon as she heard that 
her son was slain, she cruelly killed Ahaziah’s young children, 
who, of course, were her grandchildren ; one only escaped. Joash 
was then a little infant, and was cast away to die among the slain ; 
but Jehosheba, the wife of the high-priest, and a sister of Ahaziah, 
and therefore aunt to the infant, took him up and ran away with 
him secretly, and hid him in one of the priest’s chambers. 

For six years the cruel Athaliah reigned, but when the young 
prince was seven years old, the priest showed him to the elders of 
the people ; bound them by a sacred oath to secrecy : set guards 
to the temple, and solemnly crowned him. The people, tired of 
the reign of such a base creature, were delighted at seeing the 
young Joash, clapped their hands, and shouted, “ God save the 
king!” Athaliah, hearing the noise, went to see what was the 
matter, and when she found Joash made king, she cried out, 
“ Treason, treason !” but nobody would help her ; and, if any had 
24 


630 


child’s commentator. 


dared to do so, Jehoiada gave orders to have them slain. Sc 
they thrust her away from the temple, and slew her Thus God 
caused the punishment of a cruel murderer and usurper. “ Verify, 
there is a God that judgeth in the earth.” 

Having restored the rightful family to the throne, the high- 
priest made the people swear to be faithful to the service of the 
true God, and then destroyed the temple and altars of Baal, and 
slew the wicked priest of Baal, who had deluded the people, by 
pretending that an idol was God. So the people were now 
peaceable and happy. 


THE TWELFTH CHAPTER OF II. KINGS. 

The Reign o/Joask , King of Judah. 

“ And his servants arose, and made a conspiracy, and slew Joash 

in the house of Millo, which goeth down to Sella.” — Ver. 20. 

Joash, or Jehoash, began to reign over Judah in the seventh 
year of the reign of Jehu over Israel, Jehu having begun his reign 
when Joash was an infant. Though Ahaziah was his father, his 
mother was not Athaliah, so that he was not of the wicked house 
of Ahab, for “ his mother’s name was Zibiah, of Beer-sheba, a city 
in the tribe of Simeon.” 

While Jehoiada, the high-priest, was his instructor, Joash did 
what was right. The people, however, though they worshipped 
Jehovah, still kept their high places in imitation of the heathen ; 
and, as these had now been long established, they became attach- 
ed to old customs, and found it more convenient to worship God 
there than in his temple ; but in so doing, they were disobeying 
God’s command, and, therefore, could expect no blessing. 

The house of the Lord had now been much neglected, & and was 
out of repair, and Joash adopted means to save money for it, and 
had it well repaired. 

Joash, however, afterwards disgraced himself by his cowardly 
conduct towards Hazael, king of Syria, of whom we have read ; 
for Hazael, having taken Gath, and being upon his march towards 



JO A SB. THE CHILD KING. 













ELISHA ON HIS DEATH-BED. 


CHILD’S COMMENTATOR. 


633 

Jerusalem, Joash, instead of boldly opposing him, and trusting 
to the protection of God, gave him all the treasures of the tem- 
ple to induce him to go back. Joash, having declined in his 
zeal for God’s glory, lost the protection of God, and, at last, his 
servants conspired against him and slew him, after having reign- 
ed forty years, and his son Amaziah reigned in his stead. 


THE THIRTEENTH CHAPTER OP II. KINGS. 

The Reigns of Jehoahaz , and Joash , Kings of Israel — The Death 
of the Prophet Elisha — The dead Man raised to Life in his 
Sepulchre. 

“ Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. 
And Joash, the king of Israel, came down unto him, and wept 
over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariots 
of Israel and the horsemen thereof.” — Ver. 14. 


Joash had reigned twenty-three years over Judah when Je- 
hoahaz succeeded his father Jehu as king of Israel. The length 
of his reign was seventeen years. During that time he encou- 
raged the people in worshipping their two idol-calves. So God 
was angry with them, or acted as we should do when angry, that 
is, gave them up to be punished for their crime ; and Hazael, and 
his son and successor Benhadad, kings of Syria, overcame many 
of them, and used them very cruelly. 

Then Jehoahaz prayed to God to help the people ; and God, 
who is very merciful, when he was called upon, delivered them 
from their enemies ; and they lived in their tents in safety, as 
they formerly used to do. 

Yet these foolish people soon again returned to the worship of 
their calves. 

The army of Israel was now in a very low state ; for the Syrians 
had reduced it to fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thou- 
sand footmen, or foot-soldiers ; these would have been nothing to 




634 


child’s commentator* 


protect the country, had not God, in spite of the people’s idolatry 
still guarded it by his providence, and saved it from entire ruin. 

Chi the death of Jehoahaz, Jehoash, or Joash, his son, came to 
the throne ; and now there were two kings of that name reigning ; 
for Joash, king of Judah, was yet living, and in the thirty-seventh 
year of his reign. This Joash* king of Israel, reigned sixteen 
years, and so lived in the reign of Amaziah, who, we said at the 
close of the last chapter, succeeded his father Joash as king of 
Judah. Nothing good is said of this Joash, king of Israel, but 
we learn that he “ followed the sins of Jeroboam,” still sanction- 
ed the golden calves, and that he fought against his neighbour 
Amaziah, king of Judah, and beat him, of which we have an ac- 
count in the next chapter. This king of Israel reigned sixteen 
years, and his son, who was called Jeroboam, “ sat upon his 
throne.” 

Before closing the history of the reign of this Joash of Israel, 
we find that in his time the prophet Elisha died. The king val- 
ued him as a good man and a prophet ; for ministers, if they are 
good men, are often valued by bad men. And the king went 
to see him, and grieved to think he was about to die ; for, now 
Israel was so weak, he would have been like chariots and horse- 
men to protect it by his prayers and advice. And the king 
“ wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chari- 
ots of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.” 

Elisha the prophet, being taught by God about what would 
happen for Israel, now encouraged Joash before he died. And he 
told him to open the window eastward, and shoot with an arrow. 
Joash did so, and he told him that was a sign that the Syrians, 
who ruled to the eastward of Israel, should be conquered by him. 
Then he told him to thrust his arrows into the ground, and Joash 
did so three times. The prophet was then angry with him, for he 
told him this was done by way of a sign, and had he shown 
greater earnestness, and thrust his arrows six times into the 
ground, he should quite have overcome the Syrians. 

Elisha died, and was buried in a sepulchre, and here is a re- 
markable story mentioned of what happened after he was buried • 

Some Israelites were carrying a dead body to a grave in the 


child’s COMMENTATOR. 


635 


usual burial-place, when they saw a party of Moabites coming, 
who were marching about for plunder ; and the Israelites fearing 
lest they should fall into their hands, let down the body into the 
tomb which was nearest to them, instead of proceeding further. 
This happened to be the sepulchre of Elisha, and as soon as the 
body touched that of the prophet, the dead man came to life, and 
stood upon his feet ! It was not, indeed, Elisha’s body that made 
him come to life, but the pow r er of God, who thus honoured the 
bones of his prophet, and encouraged Joash to believe that what 
such a man had told him would surely come to pass, for he was 
the servant of God. 

Joash found Elisha’s words true; for God had compassion on 
Israel, and delivered them from their oppressors, the Syrians ; 
and Joash beat them three times, and recovered all the cities of 
Israel which had been taken from them. 


THE FOURTEENTH CHAPTER OF II. KINGS. 

The Reign of Amaziah, King of Judah — The Reign of Jeroboam, 
the Son of Joash, King of Israel . 

“ Now they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he 
fled to Lachish ; but they sent after him to Lachish, and slew 
him there. 

“ And they brought him on horses ; and he was buried at Jerusa- 
lem, with his fathers, in the city of David.” — Vers. 19, 20. 

I told you that Amaziah succeeded his father Joash, king of 
Judah, who was murdered by his servants. In this place you will 
have some account of his reign. He began to reign in Judah, in 
the second year of the reign of Joash, king of Israel. He was then 
twenty-five years old, and “reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusa- 
lem.” This king kept up the worship of God, but still allowed the 
people to burn incense on the high places, which God had forbid- 
den. He did not let the murderers of his father escape, though 
they were, most likely, great and powerful men in the kingdom 


636 


child’s commentator. 


He recovered the Edomites, who had long revolted from their 
subjection to Judah, and slew ten thousand of them in battle. 

Amaziah, however, grew haughty, and, for no cause of offence, 
sent word to Joash, king of Israel, that he would fight with his 
army. 

Joash, to mortify him, answered him by a kind of parable, and 
sent him this message : “ The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to 
the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my 
son to wife ; and there passed by a wild beast that was in Leba- 
non, and trode down the thistle.” He told him also that pride had 
lifted him up, and that he had better be quiet, both for the sake 
of himself and his people. By the thistle he meant Amaziah, and 
by the cedar, himself ; the thistle being a mean, troublesome, and 
contemptible shrub, and the cedar a stately and strong majestic 
tree. And by the thistle asking leave to marry the cedar’s 
daughter, he meant to say, that, even if he had wanted that, he 
should have looked upon him with contempt ; but when he talk- 
ed of fighting with him, he must take the consequence, for he 
should tread him down as the wild beast would the thistle. 

Amaziah was only provoked by this answer ; and, to humble 
his pride, God allowed him to go to battle, when Joash defeated 
him, took him prisoner, marched into Jerusalem by a breach in 
the wall, and carried off its treasures, and hostages, or persons of 
rank, as a security for better behaviour in future. 

Thus was Amaziah humbled ; and so, some time or other, will 
all the proud be abased. 

Amaziah lived fifteen years after Joash, king of Israel, had 
died. Like his father, he then perished from a conspiracy of his 
subjects. To escape them he fled from his chief city, Jerusalem, 
into. Lachish, a fortified city in the tribe of Judah j but they fol- 
lowed him there, and slew him : afterwards, they took his body 
to Jerusalem, to bury him with the rest of their kings. The 
people then declared his son Azariah king, who was then sixteen 
years old. 

Amaziah had reigned nearly fifteen years when Joashj the king 
of Israel, who defeated him, died ; and was succeeded by his son, 
Jeroboam, as before stated. 



child's commentator. 637 

Jeroboam reigned in Samaria, the capital of Israel, forty-one 
years. He also did evil in the sight of the Lord, like his forefa- 
thers ; he was, however, of some use to Israel ; for notwithstand- 
ing their sinfulness, God, who, is rich in mercy, still determined 
to spare the nation, and he gave Jeroboam victories over the Sy- 
rians, and other nations, their enemies ; and so their coasts, or 
borders, were restored which had been taken away from them. 

Jeroboam was succeeded by his son, Zachariah. 


THE FIFTEENTH CHAPTER OF II. KINGS. 


The Reigns of Azariah, King of Judah , Zachariah , Shallum — who 
reigned a month only — Menahem , Pekahiah , and Pekah , Kings 
I of Israel, and of Jotham, King of Judah. 

| “ In the days of Pekah, king of Israel, came Tiglath-pileser, king 

£ of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abel-beth-maachah, and Janoah, 
f and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land 
of Naphtali, and carried them captive to Assyria.” — Ver. 29. 

This chapter gives a very short account of several kings of 
Judah and Israel. 

In the last chapter we learned that Azariah succeeded his fa- 
ther Amaziah as king of Judah ; and that he became king at six- 
teen years of age. His reign was long, for he governed Judah 
fifty-two years. Azariah did some good, like his father, but he 
displeased God ; and as God then showed his displeasure by fre- 
quently punishing the ungodly even in this life, he smote this 
king with a leprosy which he had till the day of his death. As 
he was unfit to mix with his court as a king, he was shut up in a 
lone house, and his son Jotham managed the affairs of his king- 
dom. On his death, Jotham succeeded him. 

In Israel there were several kings, during the long reign of 
Azariah over J udah. 

Zachariah, the son of Jeroboam, reigned over Israel only six 
months ; he displeased God by doing evil, and so he gave him up, 



CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


638 

unprotected, to the attacks of traitors. It is a shocking thing to 
want the kind protection of God. Shallum, who is thought to 
have been a pretended friend of the king’s, conspired against him, 
and publicly slew him before all the people. Bad men are usu- 
ally despised by all, even by those who are as bad as themselves ; 
at least they have no real love for one another. This was the 
last king of the family of Jehu, and God’s word came true by the 
prophet, that his children should reign to the fourth generation. 

Shallum only reigned a month, so he got no good by his trea- 
chery. He was killed by Menahem, as he had killed Zachariah. 

Menahem was a cruel man, for he then becoming king, went 
and killed all the people that would not submit to him, and even 
barbarously slaughtered women and infants. He reigned ten 
years, and encouraged the worship of the calves. In his reign, 
Pul, the king of Assyria, marched against Israel ; but Menahem 
taxed the people, and raised a sum of money to give him as a 
bribe to keep away, that he might be secured on his throne. 

Pekahiah, his son, succeeded him, and Azariah was then still 
reigning in Judah. Pekahiah reigned two years over Israel. He 
also allowed the people to worship the calves ; and a captain of 
his, named Pekah, formed a plot against him, and slew him, and 
reigned in his stead. 

Pekah reigned twenty years, which was a long reign for one 
who had got the throne by violence. He also was as bad as the 
kings of Israel before him. During his reign, as the people still 
continued to displease God, and their wicked kings did not reprove 
them, God gave them up to be punished by their foreign enemies ; 
and Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, conquered ever so much of 
the land, and carried away half of the ten tribes of Israel into 
captivity, or made prisoners of them. This king, though he 
reigned long, was slain at last in a conspiracy, as he had slain 
his predecessor ; and Hoshea, who slew him, reigned in his stead. 

Azariah, the leprous king of Judah, who reigned so long, was 
now dead, and Jotham, his son, who had managed his affairs dur- 
ing his confinement, was seated on the throne as his father’s 
lawful successor. He began his reign in Judah when Pekah had 
been reigning nearly two years in Israel. He came to the crown 


child’s commentator. 


689 


when he was twenty -five, and “ he reigned sixteen years in Jeru- 
salem.” He did many things that were good ; but still suffered 
the high places to remain, where incense was burned, which God 
abhorred. You may observe that his father Azariah is here call- 
ed Uzziah, which was another name by which he was sometimes 
called. There was more good in Jotham than in the other kings, 
and he took an interest in God’s worship, and “built the higher 
gate of the house of the Lord.” 

The sins of the people, however, still greatly displeased God, 
and “ in those days the Lord began to send against Judah Rezin, 
the king of Syria, and Pekah, the son of Remaliah.” These kings 
went of their own accord ; and yet the Lord is said to have sent 
them, for they could not have hurt Judah, if God had not allowed 
them. Thus Israel and Judah were both punished for their sins. 
God hates sin, and will, sooner or later, always punish it. O let 
this make us afraid to disobey his commands ; and, as we have 
before done so, let us thank God for Jesus Christ our Saviour, and 
entreat him to pardon our sins, and not to destroy us for ever, 
for his sake ! 


THE SIXTEENTH CHAPTER OF II. KINGS. 

The Reign of Ahaz, King of Judah. 

“But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yea, and 
made his son to pass through the fire, according to the abomi- 
nations of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out from before 
the children of Israel. 

“ And he sacrificed and burned incense in the high places, and on 
the hills, and under every green tree.” — Vers. 3, 4. 

When Jotham died, his son and successor Ahaz began his 
reign in Judah, while Pekah still reigned in Israel. 

Ahaz was a dreadful idolater. He began to reign when he was 
twenty years old and “reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem ;” so 
that he must have done much harm to his people during that time, 
by setting them so wicked an example. He even “ made his son 


CHILD’S COMMENTATOR. 


640 

to pass through the fire,” a cruel ceremony performed in honour 
of Moloch, an idol-god of the Ammonites, and as a proof that he 
devoted his son to his false religion. A writer, who wrote some 
hundreds of years ago, says that he had seen in his time, in some 
cities, piles kindled once a year, over which not only boys but 
men would leap, and infants were carried by their mothers 
through the flames ; which seemed to be done to obtain pardon 
for sin, and to purify the soul ; and he thinks that this was like 
the custom here practised by the wicked Ahaz. 

Children cannot be too thankful to God, who do not live among 
wicked and cruel idolaters, but under the influence of the mild 
and merciful religion of Jesus Christ, the friend and Saviour even 
of “ little children.” For, there are millions of idolaters still, in 
other parts of the world, who submit their children to the great- 
est cruelties, to please, as they suppose, their false gods. 

To punish this wicked king, God sent, or allowed, Rezin, the 
king of Syria, and Pekah, the king of Israel, to make war with 
him. They even got to Jerusalem, and besieged Ahaz in his 
capital. They did not, however, succeed in taking it, and de- 
throning him ; but Rezin took Elath, a sea-port on the Red Sea, 
that formerly belonged to Edom, but was now in the possession 
of Judah. 

To get completely rid of these attacks, Ahaz sent to Tiglath- 
pileser, the kiug of Assyria, who was the enemy of Israel, and 
had carried off half the people as prisoners, and he offered to be- 
come his servant, or to be subject to him by paying him rich pre- 
sents, if he would but take his part. So he now agreed to give 
him the silver and gold of the Lord’s house, and of his own royal 
house, if he would protect him. 

Tiglath-pileser was very well pleased at the terms, and marched 
against Damascus, the capital of Syria, and took the people away 
into slavery and killed Rezin, who had probabv hastened back to 
save his own city, instead of taking that of Ahaz. It was, how- 
ever, a wicked thing of Ahaz to submit himself to a wicked king, 
and he might have obtained deliverance without his help, had he 
sought help from God. But now he was an idolater himself, he 
looked, in time of need, to another idolater ; and, on hard and 


I 



CHILD 8 COMMENTATOR. 


641 


humbling terms, he obtained his protection ; for he lost all his 
silver and gold, and made himself so weak in power for want of 
money, that he was now little better than his slave. The service 
of sin is always a hard service : it would have cost him neither 
wealth nor liberty, had his trust been in the Lord God of his fa- 
ther David. 

“ Evil communications corrupt good manners.” By connecting 
himself with the king of Assyria, Ahaz plunged more into idola- 
try. He paid that king a visit at Damascus, and there he saw a 
heathen altar that he liked, and ordered one to be made like it 
directly, and to be set up in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem. 
And he displaced God’s altar, and offered sacrifices upon the hea- 
then altar ; and he almost broke in pieces the beautiful brazen 
sea, which was supported by brass oxen, and took away the oxen, 
and laid the great laver on the floor; and he removed the splen- 
did covering from the king’s house to the temple, to show how 
little he cared about it ; and it seems to have been given to the 
king of Assyria for his use. 



Ahaz was cut off by death in the midst of his days, in the 


thirty -sixth year of his age, and his son, Hezekiah, reigned in his 
stead. 


THE SEVENTEENTH CHAPTER O T II, KINGS. 


Hoshea the last King of Israel — The tribes of Israel carried away 
into Captivity. 

“ For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam 
which he did ; they departod not from them, until the Lord re- 
moved Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants 
the prophets. 

“ So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria 
unto this day.” — Vers. 22, 23. 

Pekah, king of Israel, was slain by Hoshea, during the reign of 
Ahaz in Judah. 

This Hoshea reigned nine years over Israel. - He was not so bad 



542 


child’s commentator. 


as other kings of Israel, but he was not a pious king, and any 
thing short of true piety is displeasing to God. Israel had now 
run great lengths in wickedness, and if he did not urge them on 
as others had done before him, he did not restrain them from sin. 
and so God now punished the nation severely for their sins. He 
is long-suffering, but when sinners do not repent, his wrath at 
length falls upon them, and then he is “ a consuming fire.” 

Shalmanezer was now king of Assyria, “ and Hoshea became his 
servant and gave him presents,” just as the king of Judah had 
done. He, however, tried to shake off the yoke of Shalmanezer, 
and corresponded with the king of Egypt to invite him to be his 
friend, and neglected to pay to Assyria what he agreed to pay. 
Shalmanezer soon found out what he was doing, and fell upon 
him, took him away and put him in fetters, and thrust him into 
prison. 

The king of Assyria then besieged Samaria, the capital city of 
Israel, which held out three years against him ; and, having taken 
it, he carried the Israelites away into captivity, and scattered 
them in various parts of his dominions. So, even all the people 
of rank were made slaves and beggars, and this evil came upon 
them for trusting in false gods, living in the practice of sin, and 
neglecting the Lord God of Israel. Surely “ it is an evil and a 
bitter thing to sin against God.” Oh ! let us always be afraid of 
sin; it is our worst enemy. We are most happy and safe when 
we fear God and keep his commandments. 

If you read from the seventh to the twenty-third verse of this 
chapter, you will see an account of the offences of these people 
against God, and how they hardened their hearts against his com- 
mandments, and followed the ways of the wicked heathen. And 
so “ the Lord rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and 
delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them 
out of his sight.” 

They were, however, a wicked people who took the land, and 
for their wickedness God did not let them go unpunished. When 
they took away the Israelites, they gave the land to many of their 
own country, and so it was filled with heathen. They had no 
enemies upon them to punish them as they had punished Israel ; 


HEZEKIAH’S PRAYER. 


0 






THE BURIAE OF AMAZIAH. 



J 


9 








645 



child’s commentator. 




but still God was at no loss for means to punish them ; he sent 
lions among them, and these destroyed so many people that 
messengers were sent to the king of Assyria to ask of him what 
should be done. The heathen inhabitants had an idea that the 
God of this land was a God that did not rule any where else, and 
they thought it would be as well to learn the way to worship 
him. The king of Assyria thought the same, and so he sent 
them a priest of Israel, who went and lived at Bethel, and told 
them how to fear God. However, the people of different coun- 
tries, who were now sent to people the land of Israel, all wor- 
shipped different gods of their own making, as well as joined in 
the outward worship of the true God. 

Thus were the ten tribes of Israel scattered and lost on account 
of their sins, and they have never been recovered to this day ; 
and thus their land became a habitation for idolaters. 


THE EIGHTEENTH AND NINETEENTH CHAPTERS OF II. KINGS. 

The good Hezekiah King of Judah — Sennacherib’s Army destroyed. 

“ He trusted in the Lord God of Israel, so that, after him, was 
none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were 
before him.” — Chap, xviii. ver. 5. 


At the time that Israel were carried away into captivity by the 
Assyrians, Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, was king of Judah. He 
ascended the throne in the third year of the reign of Hoshea over 
Israel, at the age of twenty-five, and reigned in Jerusalem, over 
Judah, twenty -nine years. 

God was pleased with this king, for “ he did that which was 
right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his fa- 
ther did.” “ He removed the high places, and brake the images, 
and cut down the groves,” all of which were devoted to idolatry ; 
and, among the rest, he “ brake in pieces,” or ground to powder, 
“ the brazen serpent that Moses had made ; for, unto those days, 
the children of Israel did burn incense to it ;” and he called it 
“ Nehushtan — which means, brass, a mere piece of brass, which 



m 


child's commentator. 


it is the greatest folly to worship. Thus did this good king show 
his zeal for God, and destroy the idolatrous practices which had 
so long disgraced Judah. “ And the Lord was with him, and he 
prospered whithersoever he went forth,” — “ he rebelled” and 
threw off the yoke of Assyria, which his father had submitted to, 
when he said to Tiglath-pileser, “ I am thy servant and “ he 
smote the Philistines,” who in his father’s time had marched into 
Judah, and taken many places in it. 

However, in order to try Hezekiah’s trust in God, and to pun- 
ish his wicked subjects, God suffered the king of Assyria, who 
had destroyed Israel, to march a large force against him, and he 
took his “ fenced cities,” or what we call the frontier towns or 
garrisons, on the borders of the country. 

Hezekiah was frightened ; and he sent to tell the king of As- 
syria that he was sorry for having given him offence, and en- 
treated him to go back, and he would give him any thing, for so 
doing, that he might desire. So he demanded a sum of money 
worth about two hundred thousand pounds. This obliged Heze- 
kiah to empty the public treasures, and to take all the gold and 
silver of the temple, even to the ornaments of the posts and the 
doors. Hezekiah was not right in paying all this money, for 
there w'as a prophet then in Judah, and had he gone to him, he 
would have learnt that God could deliver him without this sacri- 
fice. But, as I have told you, he was frightened ; and, although 
he was a good king, he did what was wrong. 

Notwithstanding that Hezekiah had paid the king of Assyria 
to go back, yet, when he had got the money, he probably thought 
to himself, ‘ Now Hezekiah’s kingdom is surely mine. He has no 
money to pay an army, and, if he was so weak before as to be fright- 
ened, he must be more so now I have got his treasures.’ So this 
base cheating king, instead of withdrawing his army, as he had 
agreed to do, sent three generals, with a large host, against Je- 
rusalem, and kept the money too, which was paid him to go back. 

One of these generals, called Rab-shakeh, approached the walls, 
and made a very boasting speech about what he could do, and 
what Judah could not do, and tried to persuade the soldiers of 
Judah to desert, or he would reduce them to a horrible state of 




child’s commentator. 647 

starvation. And then he praised his mean tyrant of a king, and 
told them how generous he would be. And he said they had not 
got two thousand men in all their army that could ride a horse 
in battle, or if they could show them, he would give them the 
horses. And he argued that it was of no use to look for help to 
Egypt, as Israel had done ; and, indeed, he could conquer any 
nation he pleased, and none of the gods could deliver them out 
of his hand ; and, especially, as Hezekiah had been pulling down 
the high places, and altars, where could he look for help ? 

This was like a wicked heathen, who knew nothing of the Lord 
God of Israel, but he was soon to know that he was very differ- 
ent from the false gods which the king of Assyria had defied. 

Hezekiah now found it was in vain to treat with such a tyrant, 
and he did what he ought to have done before — he rent his clothes, 
. and put on sackcloth as a sign of humiliation, and he went to pray 

I in the house of the Lord. He also sent messengers to Isaiah, the 

prophet, who then lived in Judah, and entreated him to pray that 
4 God would direct and protect him, for he knew not what to do. 

7 , God spoke to the prophet’s mind, and he told Hezekiah not to 
fear, for the wicked king w'ho had despised the name of God, 
should be suddenly and totally subdued by his almighty power. 

As Hezekiah did not send any message to the king of Assyria, 
he received another insolent message from him. And he told him, 
“ Let not thy God, in whom thou trustest, deceive thee, saying, Je- 
rusalem shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assy- 
ria. Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to 
all lands, by destroying them utterly ; and shalt thou be delivered?” 

When Hezekiah received his letter, he went and spread its con- 
tents before the Lord. God knew what it contained, but this was 
a sign that he wished to have God’s direction. And Hezekiah 
prayed to the God of Israel, the God of all the kingdoms of the 
world, and he said, “ Lord, bow down thine ear, and hear ; open, 
Lord, thine eyes, and see ; and hear the words of Sennacherib, 
which hath sent him to reproach the living God. Of a truth, 
Lord, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their 
lands, and have cast their gods into the fire ; for they were no 
gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone : therefore they 



648 


child’s commentator. 


have destroyed them. Now, therefore, O Lord our God, 1 beseech 
thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the 
earth may know that thou art the Lord God, even thou only.” 

God heard Hezekiah’s prayer, and he received an answer by 
his prophet, Isaiah. In this answer, God said, that, if he touched 
his virgin — meaning his pure church of Judah, which was now 
freed from idolatry — and if he thought to cut down its noble fo- 
rests, and turn the channels of its rivers, in making war upon it, 
he was mistaken. For he, by his almighty power, would treat 
him as men treat an obstinate beast, and he would as completely 
restrain him as if he were to put a hook into his nose, and a bri- 
dle into his lips, and make him go back the way that he came. 

And God would feed the people as well as deliver them ; for, if 
the arm}? of the Assyrians had destroyed the fruits of the earth, 
he would soon make them grow again, so that they needed not to |i 
fear on that account. I 

And now, the very night after the blasphemous message had 
been sent from the king of Assyria, “ the angel of the Lord went | 

out, and smote, in the camp of the Assyrians, an hundred four i 

score and five thousand,” or an hundred and eighty -five thou- I 

sand ; “ and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they il 

were all dead corpses !” Hezekiah would have been afraid to | 
fight such an army, but God fought for him. “ The angel of the 
Lord” is said to have done this, and God. perhaps employed a 
glorious spirit in this work, but any thing that does his purpose 
is his angel or messenger. The Scripture does not say what 
kind of a death this army suffered; some think that they died by 
a plague, for there are plagues that carry people off in much less 
time than an hour. The plague, the cholera, and the yellow, 
fever destoy many thousands in a short time when they pre- 
vail. Some say that they were killed by lightning ; and others 
suppose, with great probability, that it was by a hot wind, w hich 
blows in those parts, and comes upon travellers like a blast of 
air from the mouth of a hot oven, and so takes away their breath 
in a moment. Many thousands at a time have perished in this 
way, while travelling in company in the parts where Judah w^as 
situated. 




CHiLD B COMMENTATOR. 


649 


However, while we may be innocently curious to find out in 
what way Sennacherib the king of Assyria was vanquished, the 
word of God came to pass, and he escaped among the few that 
remained alive, and returned whence he came. This ought to 
have convinced him that the God of Israel was the true God, but 
he returned to his wicked idolatry, and, “ while he was worship- 
ping in the house of Nisroch, his god,” two of his sons “ smote 
him with the sword,” and “ Esar-haddon, his son, reigned in his 
stead.” The Jews say that the reason why his two sons slew 
him was because he was going to sacrifice them to his god ; he 
was, indeed, idolater enough, and tyrant enough, to do so, but of 
this we have no account in the Scriptures. 

Thus, in Sennacherib you see how God can cast down the 
proud ; and in Hezekiah, how he can raise up the humble. 


THE TWENTIETH CHAPTER OF II. KINGS. 

Hezekiah? s severe Sickness and wonderful Recovery. 

“ In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death : and the prophet 
Isaiah, the son of Amoz, came to him, and said unto him, 
Thus saith the Lord, set thine house in order, for thou shalt 
die and not live.”— Ver. 1. 

Good king Hezekiah was taken very ill, and had a bad boil, and 
the prophet Isaiah went to him, and told him to prepare to die. 
He was then but a young man, and was aiming to improve the 
condition of his country, and, no doubt, felt much pained to leave 
it, before he could do more in the service of God. When, there- 
fore, he heard he was to die, he wept, and he earnestly begged of 
God to lengthen his life. God immediately heard his earnest 
prayer, and the prophet went back to tell him that God would 
add fifteen more years to his life. He was the only man who ever 
knew exactly how long he should live ; and, most likely, he im- 
proved the remainder of his days, by still more diligently serving 
God ; though, in one instance, he gave way to pride, and did not 
render to God, who had made him what he was, all the honour 




650 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


and glory which was due to his name. This instance I shall soon 
mention. Isaiah now told the king, that although God would 
spare his life, he must use means to cure his disorder : so the 
prophet told him to take a lump of figs, and to apply it to his 
boil, and by this remedy he would cure it. 

At this time, the king of Babylon, a heathen, wished to make 
a friend of Hezekiah, and sent messengers to him with letters of 
friendship and a present. Hezekiah received them very kindly, 
but foolishly and vainly displayed all his treasures, and showed 
them how rich he was, that they might report it to their master. 

Then Isaiah visited the king, and told him, that all his trea- 
sures should, by and by, go to the king of Babylon; and his 
children, of another generation, should be made slaves in his 
palace. This was to humble Hezekiah’s pride, and if his children 
had been humbled too, the king of Babylon would not have over- 
come them ; but they were as proud as their father of their trea- 
sures, without his pious disposition to humble them as he was 
humbled, and so the king of Babylon, knowing how rich they 
were, went to war with them, and conquered them, as you will 
hereafter learn. 


THE TWENTY-FIRST CHAPTER OF II. KING8. 

Manassth's exceedingly wicked Reign in Judah — Amon's wicked 
Reign in Judah. 

“ And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, afler 
the abominations of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out before 
the children of Israel.” — Ver. 2. 


On the death of Hezekiah, his son, Manasseh, reigned in his 
stead. Though he had so good a father, who abolished idolatry, 
and loved and served God, he himself was very wicked. We may 
suppose that he fell into the hands of bad counsellors, for he was 
but twelve years old when he began to reign ; yet he seemed to 
love evil with all his heart. He rebuilt the high places which his 


651 



child’s commentator. 

father had destroyed, reared altars to Baal, made a grove for im- 
pure ceremonies, worshipped the hosts of heaven, profaned the 
house of the Lord by heathen worship, made his son pass through 
the fire, used enchantments or conjurations, and dealt with wiz- 
ards and other conjurors. 

The people were as wicked as their king, and therefore God 
threatened to punish Jerusalem, as he did the city of Samaria, 
and the house of Ahab, and completely to clean it out, as if a dish 
were wiped, and to upset the state, like a dish turned upside 
down. Judah should be led into captivity, like Israel, for now 
their crimes had become exceedingly great ; they and their king 
were notorious idolaters, and to carry their measures, they had 
“ shed innocent blood very much most likely, all the good 
men who had opposed these iniquities were put to death, and, 

* among others, it is believed that Manasseh killed the prophet | 

I Isaiah, and had him sawn asunder for telling him the truth. 

After a reign of fifty -five years, Manasseh died. In this book | 

d we hear no more about him ; but I am happy to tell you, that in js 

the next book, the First Book of Chronicles, we shall learn, that 
he was a penitent, and that God had mercy upon him, O ! what ! 

great sinners God can save ! May we all be penitents ! for if 
we have not sinned in the same way as Manasseh, yet, in God’s 
sight, we are all great sinners, and need his forgiveness. If we 
repent and look for pardon through the kind interference of Jesus 
Christ, who, on that account, is called our Mediator, we shall, 
with Manasseh, find mercy. 

Manasseh was buried in the garden of his house, and not in the 
sepulchres of the kings, and his son Amon succeeded him. 

Amon began to reign when he was twenty-two years old, and 
he reigned only two years. The king was wicked like his father, 
but he did not repent like him. He was killed by a conspiracy 
of his servants. We cannot wonder that among the people whom 
he and his father had made so wicked, there should be some rea- 
dy to do so wicked an act. They were, indeed, executed for their 
crime ; but this was but a small show of good amidst so much 
evil. 




552 child’s commentator. 


the twenty-second and twenty-third CHAPTERS OF II. KINGS. 

Josiah, the most excellent King of Judah. 

“ And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to 
the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all 
his might, according to all the law of Moses ; neither after him 
arose there any like him.” — Chap, xxiii. 25. 

Josiah was the next king; he was Amon’s son. 

This prince came to the crown at eight years of age, and he 
reigned thirty-one years. 

He turned out to be a most pious youth. He loved and served 
God very early, and he did so all the days of his life. What an 
honourable character! May many be induced to imitate it ! for 1 
to be truly pious is the only way to be truly happy. I 

This good young king repaired the house of the Lord, which had I 
been suffered to go to decay. And Hilkiah, the high priest, hav- 
ing found the book of the law, which had long been neglected, the 
king had it read to him, and was much grieved to find how the ] 

people had broken it, and to what dreadful punishments they 1 

were exposed for their wickedness. Then he sent to be instruct- > 
ed about God’s will, from a holy prophetess whose name was 
Huldah, and she foretold what evil was about to come upon Je- 
rusalem for its sins : but because Josiah’s heart was tender, and 
he had humbled himself before God, he should die in peace, and 
should never see the evil that was threatened. 

Then the king, knowing the threatenings of God, tried to bring 
the people over to repentance for their sins. And he gathered 
together the elders, and the priests, and the prophets, and a very 
large number of the people, and went up to the house of the Lord. 
Before this assembly, he stood like a minister and servant of 
God, and read the book of the law. Here the king and the people 
made a covenant or agreement to serve God, and they knew that 
his word promised that he would be their God to love them, and 
to do them good, if they would be his faithful people. 

Then the king began to show how much he was in earnest, and 





child’s commentator. 653 

took away all the temptations to idolatry. Every vessel that had 
been used for the serving of false gods was taken out of Jerusa- 
lem, that the city might no longer be defiled, and was burned, and 
the ashes were carried to Bethel, where one of Jeroboam’s calves 
was placed ; that place being now in the hands of the king of Judah. 

And he put down the idolatrous priests, and he burned a carved 
imitation of a grove, used in the idol-worship, and strewed the 
ashes in indignation on the graves of those who had died idolaters. 
And he defiled all the high places where the idolaters had wor- 
shipped, which might be done by casting any kind of dunghill- 
filth upon them ; he also defiled . Topheth, a place where infants 
were cast into the fire, in honour of the idol Molech, amidst the 
noise of drums and timbrels, which were beaten to drown the 
cries of the poor little sufferers ; intending by this to prevent any 
\ man in future from making his son or his daughter to pass through 

]/ the fire to Molech. Also, he took away the horses which it is 

ll likely his father and grandfather had given to the sun, or left to 

3 be sacrificed in honour of the sun, which was one of the cruel 

3 practices among the heathen. In fact, every altar, and every 

1 high place, and every image, and every grove, which had been 

1 suffered to remain in Judah for ages, and which former kings had 

' built in their folly and wickedness, Josiah totally destroyed and 

defiled them ; and many of the places he filled with the bones of 
dead men, supposed to have been idolatrous priests, who had 
been buried near, and so he made them unfit for uses thought to 
be sacred, as nothing was thought more defiling than bones. 

You may remember reading, in the thirteenth chapter of First 
Kings, that when king Jeroboam was wickedly burning incense 
upon an idol-altar, a prophet from Judah “cried against the altar 
in the word of the Lord, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the 
Lord, Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Jo- 
siah by name ; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high 
places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be 
burnt upon thee.” And now the word of God came to pass ; for 
Josiah took the bones out of the sepulchres, and burned them upon 
this altar, and polluted it, “according to the word of the Lord 
which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words.” 




654 


child’s commentator. 


Near the same spot lay the bones of the man of God who spoke 
the prophecy, but who, having disobeyed God’s orders, was kill- 
ed by a lion ; and by his side the prophet, who led him to do 
wrong, was also laid, according to his order, which he gave his 
sons before he died. Josiah saw the sepulchre of the man of God, 
with some remarkable inscription on it, and he asked about it, 
and when he knew whose sepulchre it was, he would not mix the 
bones with those of the idolaters, but “he said, Let him alone ; 
let no man move his bones. So they let his bones alone, with 
the bones of the prophet that came out of Samaria.” 

Josiah next “slew all the priests of the high places that were 
there upon -the altars, and burned men’s bones upon them, and 
returned to Jerusalem,” having destroyed “all the houses also of 
the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings 
of Israel had made to provoke the Lord to anger.” Most likely, 
he had in some way got possession of a small part of Israel, 
which enabled him thus to show the vengeance of God against 
the idolatrous offenders. 

Josiah, on his return, ordered the solemn ordinance of the pass- 
over to be devoutly kept. This had been appointed in remem- 
brance of God’s sparing Israel, and passing over their dwellings, 
when the destroying angel killed all the first-born in the land of 
Egypt. But the kings of Israel had despised and neglected this 
among God’s ordinances, and in Judah it had too often met with 
the same treatment. Now, however, it was observed with a re- 
verence with which it had not been treated before, since the days 
of Samuel, the last of the Judges of Israel. Finally, this good 
king sent away all the wizards who pretended to be prophets of 
God, and routed out every image and idol that he could find ; 
and, indeed, there was no sort of abomination which he discover- 
ed, that he did not destroy. 

Yet, in secret, the foolish people loved their foolish idols ; and 
God, who knew their hearts, determined to punish them, and to 
reject them, as they had rejected him. 

This punishment was to be as signal and dreadful as their 
crimes ; and now God took good Josiah away from the evil to 
come. Pharaoh-nechoh, the king of Egypt, was going to war 


655 



child’s commentator. 

with the king of Assyria, and he began to march through the ter* 
ritories of Judah. This Josiah would not allow, as he was at 
peace with Assyria ; and he went to prevent the Egyptian army 
from going that -way. At the very first onset good Josiah was 
slain. He seems to have forgotten himself in this instance, and 
not to have consulted God’s prophets, whether or not it was right 
and safe to go. We ought always to ask God’s blessing on all 
our undertakings, and then we may hope to prosper. However, 
God overruled this error, to take the good king to himself ; and 
his servants took him in his chariot to Jerusalem, “and buried 
him in his own sepulchre.” 

The people then took Jehoahaz, Josiah’s son, and made him 
king ; but his reign lasted a very short time — only three months. 
It is probable that he marched against Pharaoh to avenge his fa- 
ther’s death, and so was made prisoner by Pharaoh, who also 
j made Judah pay a tribute, amounting, as is thought, to about 
two hundred and ten thousand dollars, 
i Jehoahaz was not Josiah’s eldest son, so Pharaoh at once de- 
7, posed him, that he might fight no more against him, and he set 

I his brother Eliakim, who was two years older, upon the throne 

1 of Judah ; and he gave him a new name, and called him Jehoia- 
I kim, which would make him remember that he owed his throne 
to Pharaoh, who changed his name, as was his custom to do, 
when he gave any person great honour. You recollect that a 
former Pharaoh, in this way, gave a new name to Joseph. 

Jehoahaz died a prisoner in Egypt. 

“ Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began to 
reign ; and he reigned eleven years in J erusalem.” He was a 
wicked king. 




! 




G5G child’s commentator. 

THE TWENTY-FOURTH CHAPTER OF II. KINGS. 

Jehoiakim's Reign , and his Son Jehoiachms short Reign in Judah, 
and the Captivity of him and his people , by Nebuchadnezzar — 
Zedekiah's Reign. 

“ And Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, went out to the king of 
Babylon; he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, 
and his officers : and the king of Babylon took him in the 
eighth year of his reign.” — Ver. 12. 

Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, made war against Jehoia- 
kim, aud for three years he was his servant, or became tributary 
to the king of Babylon, paying him money to let him be at peace. 
At the end of that time, perhaps, encouraged by the king of 
Egypt, who had just put him on the throne, Jehoiakim refused to 
pay any more tribute ; “ and the Lord sent against him bands of 
the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moab- 
ites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against 
Judah to destroy it; according to the word of the Lord, which 
he spake by his servants the prophets.” Nebuchadnezzar, in re- 
venge, sent these bands, or bodies of nations, who were subject 
to him ; but it is said to be the Lord who did it, for he suffered 
it to be done to punish Judah, as he had threatened. “ Surely, 
at the commandment of the Lord came this upon Judah, to re- 
move them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according 
to all that he did. And also for the innocent blood that he shed : 
for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, which the Lord 
would not pardon.” Manasseh repented, and was pardoned ; but 
his wicked people, who did these cruel deeds for him, and did not 
repent like him, were not pardoned ; and now, therefore, God 
punished them. 

We read, in the thirty-sixth chapter of 2 Chronicles, that Je 
hoiakim was taken prisoner by Nebuchadnezzar, and bound in 
fetters, to be carried to Babylon. This most likely broke his 
heart, and he immediately died. 

In the midst of these troubles his son Jehoiachin came to the 



657 




CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


crown, in the eighteenth year of his age, “ and he reigned in Je- 
rusalem three months. He also did that which was evil in the 
sight of the Lord, according to all that his father had done.” 

Nebuchadnezzar’s servants, or officers and soldiers, now close- 
ly besieged Jerusalem, and Jehoiachin being unable to resist 
them, went out of the city and surrendered himself prisoner, 
with “ his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his offi- 
cers.” The king of Babylon then took away all the king’s trea- 
sures, and all the treasures of the temple, and all the golden ves- 
sels which Solomon had made. So Jerusalem was stripped of its 
wealth, and its chief inhabitants, and its soldiers, and “ its crafts- 
men,” or clever workmen, “ and smiths,” that they might make 
no more warlike instruments for those that were remaining ; 
“ none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land 
and ten thousand of its great, and rich, and brave men, with all 
the king’s family, were carried away to Babylon. 

The king of Babylon now set up a poor feeble king, without 
wealth, and without weapons of war, just to keep the poor peo- 
ple in order, who remained in Judah, and w r ere of use to till the 
land. It is said that he made ; ‘Mattaniah, his father’s brother, 
king in his stead that is, he made Mattaniah, brother to Jehoi- 
akim, who was jehoiachin’s father, king instead. And the king 
of Babylon changed Mattaniah’s name to Zedekiah— a custom 
which, I before told you, was often practised in such cases, and 
which reminded the king that he only held his crown at the plea- 
sure of the king of Babylon. 

Jehoiachin’s uncle, Zedekiah, as he was now called, was twenty 
and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven 
years in Jerusalem. He was as wicked as his bad forefathers, 
and so God gave him up to ruin. He rebelled against the king 
of Babylon, hoping to get free from his power ; but it was in 
vain. Judah had now come to the day of reckoning; and Jeru- 
salem, which once had been the favourite place of God, but which 
had, for numerous years, been so depraved, was speedily to be 
laid in ruins. 






25 





CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


THE TWENTY-FIFTH CHAPTER OF II. KINGS. 

The Destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. 

“ So Judah was carried away captive out of their land.” — Ver. 21. 


In the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar marched 
a large army against the city, built forts, and battered its walls. 
After two years’ siege the city was taken by storm. It was 
broken up that is, the besiegers made a breach in the wall, by 
which they entered. Zedekiah and his soldiers, being unable to 
resist, escaped out of the city at night, by a private way ; but 
they were pursued, and overtaken in the plain of Jericho, where 
Zedekiah was made prisoner : he was then tried for his rebellion, 
and sentenced as guilty. His sons were executed before his eyes ; 
and, according to a cruel punishment still practised in the East, 
by way of punishment for rebellion, his eyes were put out, and 
he was taken prisoner to Babylon. The king of Babylon after- 
wards sent Nebuzar-adan, his chief captain, to destroy what re- 
mained of Jerusalem, and every house was burned down. The 
wall of the city was also broken entirely down by the army of 
the Chaldees. Among other noble buildings, Solomon’s fine 
temple was now completely destroyed, after its being ransacked, 
and every thing valuable taken out of it, its gold and silver, and 
brass vessels, and ornaments. 

Thus perished the beautiful temple, which had stocd four 
hundred and twenty years ; and it is supposed that, among other 
things that perished in it, was the ark, with what it contained ; 
for this ark was the sign of God’s presence, when he was wor- 
shipped there in sincerity ; but now that presence was gone, and 
all was desolation. 

In making an end of the city, the enemy found a number of 
persons who had concealed themselves. These were Seraiah, the 
chief priest, and Zephaniah, the second priest, and some door- 
keepers of the temple, and a general, and some of the king’s coun- 
sellors, and a chief officer of state, and sixty gentlemen who had 
escaped out of the country to be made secure there. Instead of 


JERUSALEM WITH ITS WALLS AS SEEN FROM THE NORTHWEST 






GOLDEN GATE, JERUSALEM 




CHILD 8 COMMENTATOR. 


661 


escaping punishment, as they hoped, they were worse off than 
those who were taken before, for the king of Babylon had them 
all at to death. 



The poorest people of the land were yet left in it, as before, 
to be vine-dressers and husbandmen. Over these the king of 
Babylon placed Gedaliah, a good man, to be their governor, but 
not as a king. The foolish people that remained might now have 
been happy, if they would ; but as Gedaliah was placed over them 
by the king of Babylon, whom they hated, they joined in a con- 
spiracy with one Ismael, who was of the blood-royal of Israel, 
and, probably, aspired to the honour of being governor ; and so 
they slew Gedaliah, and the Jews and the Chaldees that were about 
his person. As soon as they had committed this rash act, they 
saw their danger from the anger of the king of Babylon ; and, 
therefore, they all fled in alarm to Egypt, to get out of the way 
of any army that might be sent to punish them in their own 
land : thus, by their madness, they put a finishing stroke to their 
ruin. 

Judah was carried away out of their land , about eight hundred 
and sixty years after they were put in possession of it by Joshua. 

We are told, in conclusion, that Jehoiachin, who was made 
prisoner before Zedekiah, remained in prison thirty-seven years. 
At the end of that time Evil-merodach succeeded his father Ne- 
buchadnezzar, and “ he did lift up the” drooping “ head of Jehoi- 
achin, king of Judah, out of prison ; and he spake kindly to him, 
and set his throne above the thrones of the kings that were with 
him,” as prisoners, “ in Babylon ; and he changed his prison gar- 
ments, and he did eat bread continually before him all the days 
of his life,” being allowed to have a table in his presence in his 
own palace. This w r as kind of king Evil-merodach. We should 
always do what acts of kindness lie in our power to comfort the 
miserable. God does so to us. We have ruined ourselves by 
sinning against him ; but he has proclaimed deliverance to the 
captive, and provided for us the garments of salvation, and the 
bread of life, if we only trust in his Son Jesus. Christ. Thus ‘‘ he 
hath remembered us in our low estate ; for his mercy endureth 
for ever.” 


662 


CHILDS COMMENTATOR, 


DISTINGUISHING MARKS 


OP 

®l)e Kings of farad. 


Note.— E ach dynasty includes a family. To every new family the succession Is traced 
from the first, as the father, and then follow his son, his grandson, or his son's son, and 
his great grandson ; these names not signifying the grandsons or great grandsons of those 
who last reigned, but of the first on each list. 


FIRST DYNASTY. 

Father Jeroboam 

Son * Nadab 


SECOND DYNASTY. 

Father Baasha 

Son Elah 

Zimri 

THIRD DYNASTY. 

Omri 

Ahab 

Ahaziah 


Father . . 
Son 

Grandson 


Jehoram.orJoTam 


FOURTH DYNASTY. 


Father Jehu 

Son Jehoahaz 

Grandson Jehoash, or Joash 

Great grandson Jeroboam II 

Great great grandson . . . Zachariah 

FIFTH DYNASTY. 

Shallum 


The calf-maker. 

The wicked image of his 
father. 


Jeroboam’s executioner. 
The drunkard. 

The self-murderer. 


The founder of Samaria.* 
The great idolater. 

The devotee of Baal-ze 
bub. 

Judah’s ally. 


The destroyer of BaaL 
Syria’s weakened foe. 
Judah's conqueror. 
Israel’s restorer. 

The last of the Jehus. 


The king of a month. 


• Tibni reigned over part of Israel during five years of Omri’s reign. 



CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


663 


Father 
Son . 


SIXTH DYNASTY. 

Menabem The crueL 

Pekahiah The victim of treachery. 

SEVENTH DYNASTY. 

Pekah The long-reigning usurper 

EIGHTH DYNASTY. 

Hoshea The last king of InraeL 


CHARACTERS OF THE KINGS OF JUDAH. 

BY MATTHEW HENRY. 


David 

Solomon 

Relioboam . . 
Abijah . . . . , 

Asa 

Jehoshaphat 
Jehoram . . . 
Akaziab . . . 

Joasli 

Amaziah . . . 

Uzziah 

Jotham 

Abaz 

Hezekiah . . 
Mauasseh . . 

Amon 

Josiah 

Jehoabaz . . . 
Jelioiakim . . 
Jeboiacbin . . 
Zedekiab . . . 


The devout 
The wise. 

The simple. 

The valiant 
The upright 
The religious. 

The wicked. 

The profane. 

The backslider. 

The rash. 

The mighty. 

The peaceable 
The idolater. 

The reformer. 

The penitent 
The obscure. 

The tender-hearted. 

The last of the wicked. 



rebuilt. 





child’s commentator. 


667 


THE FIRST BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES, 

OB, 

THE GENEALOGIES OF THE TWELVE TRIBES. 


FROM THE FIRST TO THE LAST CHAPTER. 

“ So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies : and, behold, they 
were written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah, 
who were carried away to Babylon for their transgression.” — 
Chap. ix. 1. 

We left the Jews in a state of captivity in Babylon : we shall, 
by and by, read of their deliverance. But before we come to 
that, we have to glance over the Books of Chronicles, which were 
written after the Jew’s returned from captivity, in order to pre- 
serve the proper record of their families, and to give a particular 
account of the kings of Judah. This was very important — as 
from Judah it was expected, according to prophecy, that the 
Messiah, or Christ, should spring. These books give some par- 
ticulars, in the life of David, which are not mentioned so pre- 
cisely in the Kings. They also furnish us with a fuller descrip- 
tion of the temple than we had before, and a more lengthened 
account of Solomon. Some new particulars respecting the kings 
of Israel are likewise added. The last two chapters, in particu- 
lar, speak of the beginning of the release of the Jews by Cyrus, 
as w T e shall soon have occasion to read. 


668 


CHILD 6 COMMENTATOR. 


The first nine chapters are all genealogies, or accounts of 
families in the order in which one generation lived after another 
for many ages. We have here all the families that sprung from 
Adam, from Noah, from Abraham, from Judah, from David, and 
from all the tribes of Israel. 

Some of them were, probably, very clever, very brave, very 
rich, very powerful, very honourable, and very renowned ; but the 
word of God passes by them all to notice one of whom it is said, 
“ Jabez was more honourable than his brethren.” And what 
made him so honourable ? He “ called on the God of Israel” — 
that is, he prayed — and he prayed, “ Oh, that thou wouldest 
bless me indeed !” You see here what it is that makes any one 
truly honourable — praying. Praying is holding converse with 
God. It is a great honour to talk with a king, but what is that 
honour to talking with the King of kings ! God notices you 
when you pray, and he is pleased when you pray, and will ho- 
nour and bless you. “ The way, ” says Mr. Henry, “ to be tru- 
ly great is to be truly good, and to pray much.” 

The remaining chapters of this book amount to twenty. They 
are chiefly repetitions of what wo have before read in the books 
of Samuel and Kings. The tenth chapter gives an account of the 
fatal battle of Saul with, the Philistines. The eleventh treats of 
David’s being anointed king, and of his mighty men. The twelfth 
contains a list of those who joined David before the death of 
Saul, when Saul persecuted him from place to place. The thir- 
teenth informs us of David’s taking the ark from Kirjath-jearim, 
when Uzzah was struck dead for meddling with it ; and David 
left it at the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. The fourteenth 
chiefly records David’s victories over the Philistines. The fif- 
teenth describes the bringing of the ark from the house of Obed 
edom to the city of David. The sixteenth contains the account 
of David’s appointing proper ministers to worship before the ark ; 
and a thanksgiving psalm composed by him for the occasion. 
The seventeenth informs us of David’s intention to build an 
house for God, which he told to Nathan the prophet, but respect- 
ing which God told him, by Nathan, that his son should build it. 
The eighteenth repeats the tale of David’s victories over his ene 



child’s commentator. 669 

mies, as recorded in the Second Book of Samuel. The nineteenth 
mentions again the insult offered to David’s messengers by Ha- 
nun, the son of Nahash, king of the Ammonites, to whom he sent 
to condole with him on the death of his father ; and the subse- 
quent victory gained by Joab over the Ammonites, and over the 
Syrians whom they had hired to fight with them. The twentieth 
describes some giants who were slain in David’s victories. The 
twenty-first shows us the sin of David in numbering the people 
of Israel ; his repentance ; his choice of three evils as a punish 
ment — when he chose pestilence, and lost seventy thousand men ; 
the stopping of the pestilence by the threshing-floor of Oman the 
Jebusite, and the erection of an altar there for thanksgiving to 
God. In the twenty-second, David charges his son to build an 
house for God. The twenty-third gives sketches of the Levites, 
their descent, and offices in the temple. The twenty -fourth ar- 
4' ranges the order of the priests. The twenty-fifth, the number of 
I the singers. The twenty-sixth is “ concerning the divisions of 
j the porters” of the temple, whose business it was to open and 
shut its doors, to keep all impure and improper persons from en- 
1 / tering into it, or any of the vessels being carried out of it, and to 
prevent tumults and riots about it. The twenty-seventh mentions 
the twelve corps of soldiers, with their captains, which served 
David in rotation every month. The twenty-eighth gives us the 
exhortation of David to the principal men of Israel, and to his 
son Solomon, respecting the building of the temple. The twen- 
ty-ninth continues the same subject, and concludes with the death 
of David. 

Thus I have given you the contents only of these chapters, as 
the particulars are already explained in the Books of Samuel and 
Kings. These contents will refresh your memory ; and, if you 
read the Chronicles, you will find some few little incidents and 
circumstances pointed out with which you were not made ac- 
quainted in the former books, but which you can perfectly under- 
stand without further explanation. 





child’s commentator. 671 

the carrying of the ark into the temple. The sixth contains Sol- 
omon’s beautiful and solemn prayer at its dedication. The se- 
venth has an account of God’s acceptance of the sacrifices offered 
at the dedication of the temple, when “ the fire came down from 
heaven.” The eighth mentions the cities which Solomon built. 
The ninth informs us of the Queen of Sheba’s visit to Solomon, 
and his great splendour. The tenth records the revolt of the ten 
tribes, owing to Rehoboam’s obstinate and foolish conduct. The 
eleventh tells us of Rehoboam’s preparing an army of a hundred 
and eighty thousand men of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, to 
fight the other tribes of Israel, and recover the dominion over 
the whole ; but being forbidden by the prophet Shemaiah, they 
returned every man to his own house. The twelfth records the 
sad fact of the idolatry of Rehoboam and all Israel with him, 
there being many of the other tribes besides Judah and Benjamin 
that had joined him. God, therefore,, suffered Shishak, the king 
of Egypt, to punish him, which he did by invading his land, tak- 
ing his fenced cities, reducing the people to be tributary, and 
taking away their riches. 

The thirteenth chapter tells us of war between Abijah, king of 
Judah, the son of Rehoboam, and Jeroboam, the king of Israel ; 
the army of Judah consisting of four hundred thousand men, and 
that of Israel of eight hundred thousand. It also informs us how 
Abijah addressed the armies of Jeroboam, and tried to prevent 
the shedding of blood between those who were brethren. But 
Jeroboam and his people would not hearken to him ; and while 
he was speaking, Jeroboam sent troops behind him, and tried to 
surround his smaller army. Judah cried to God for help ; and 
when the army of Judah shouted at the sound of their trumpets, 
the army of Israel was panic- struck, and fled ; and, being pursued 
by Judah, there perished of it the immense number of five hun- 
dred thousand chosen men ! I have told you before, that those 
who, in ancient times, copied the Bible, before we were accus- 
tomed to print, sometimes made mistakes, though they were so 
closely watched by purchasers, that no material error could long 
escape without detection. It is supposed, however, that in this 
instance, among a few others that have occurred in numbers, five 



672 



child’s commentator. 


hundred thousand ought to have been fifty thousand ; the first 
number being an almost incredible amount to fall in a battle, 
and unexampled in history. 

The fourteenth chapter relates the death of Abijah, and the suc- 
cession of Asa, in his stead. It also gives an account of an army of 
Ethiopians which marched against Asa, consisting of a thousand 
thousands ; according to Josephus, the Jewish historian, it was com- 
posed of nine hundred thousand foot, and one hundred thousand 
horsemen. It tells us also how Asa cried to God, and, trusting in 
him, by his help, obtained a complete victory. The fifteenth chapter 
is a narrative of Asa’s commendable zeal in destroying the idolatry 
of his people. The sixteenth records the death of Asa. Asa, you 
recollect, had a long reign — it lasted forty-one years ; I have told 
you that he was an upright king, and he drove idolatry out of 
Judah. In this chapter w*e learn that “ they buried him in his 
own sepulchre, which he. had made for himself in the city of 
David, and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odours 
and divers kinds of spices prepared by the apothecary’s art; and 
they made a very great burning for him.” This means that they 
laid him in very great pomp on a bed of state, or the funeral 
bed, which, as with other nations, used to be strewed with sweet- 
smelling flowers, and herbs, and spices. On these occasions, 
myrrh, aloes, cassia, cinnamon, and the like, were used; and 
were strewed, or if made into liquids, were sprinkled, over the 
bed and shroud ; spices and other things, in great quantities, 
were also burnt in honour of him. This custom continued till 
the time of Herod, at whose funeral there were five hundred of 
his domestics and freed-men burning spices. 

The seventeenth chapter records the accession of Jehoshaphat. 
The eighteenth mentions Jehoshaphat’s alliance with the wicked 
Ahab, king of Israel, by marrying his son Joram to Athaliah, a 
daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, the vile idolatress. The nineteenth 
tells us about the good conduct of Jehoshaphat in managing his 
kingdom. The twentieth chapter states how the Moabites and 
Ammonites came against Jehoshaphat, who betook himself to 
fasting and prayer with his people ; “ And all J udah stood before 
the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.” 



673 


child’s commentator. 

Both those that were infants and those that were grown up, were 
called upon to make supplication to God ; for he hears babes that 
can only lisp his name, as well as grown persons. The chapter 
further states that God told the people not to fear, but to stand 
still on the morrow, and they should see his salvation. And now 
God’s word was fulfilled ; for, through some misunderstanding, 
the allied army fell out among themselves, and slew one an- 
other, and Jehoshaphat, without losing a man, came in for a great 
spoil. 

The twenty-first chapter begins with the reign of Jehoram, the 
son of Jehoshaphat, under whom Edom revolted ; the same chap- 
ter also records his death. The twenty-second chapter com- 
mences with the reign of Ahaziah, the youngest son of Jehoram. 
It tells us of his visiting Jehoram, the son of Ahab, and king of 
Israel, who was sick ; and of his going to help him in fighting 
against Jehu, “ whom the Lord had anointed to cut off the house 
of Ahab and that, in the destruction which came upon Ahab, 
he also perished ; and his mother, Athaliah, then destroyed all 
the seed royal of Judah, and reigned herself. The twenty-third 
chapter mentions the making of young Joash king, who was 
saved from the hands of Athaliah ; and the punishment of that 
wicked woman, by being slain. The twenty -fourth chapter re- 
cords the good reign of Joash during the life-time of Jehoiada, 
the priest ; his ingratitude in slaying Zechariah, the son of Jehoi- 
ada. who had raised him to the throne; his punishment in having 
all his princes, or chief men, destroyed, and all their riches taken 
away by the king of Damascus, or of the Syrians ; and his death 
— being slain by the treachery of his servants, who “ conspired 
against him for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada, the priest,” he 
having, probably, from this, slain more than one. 

The twenty-fifth chapter begins with the reign of Amaziah, the 
son of Joash ; records his punishment of the murderers of his 
father, and his death, likewise, from a conspiracy. The twenty- 
sixth chapter is a brief history of the reign of Uzziah, who was a 
bold warrior, a great builder, “ had much cattle,” and “ loved hus- 
bandry.” He is sometimes called Azariah, and has been men- 
tioned in the list of the kings of Judah, as having been smitten 



674 


child’6 commentator. 


i 


with leprosy. We are here told, that he went into the temple 
to burn incense, which duty belonged to the priests only, and, 
therefore, was guilty of an exceedingly profane act. God was so 
displeased with him, that he smote him with leprosy in his fore- 
head, and he remained a leper as long as he lived. The twenty- 
seventh chapter treats of the reign of Jotham, which was a good 
one. The twenty -eighth chapter contains the reign of Ahaz, and 
gives an account of his idolatry. 

From the twenty-ninth to the thirty-second chapters inclusive, 
we have an account of the reign of the good king Hezekiah. The 
thirty-third is an account of that of his son, Manasseh ; and here 
we are told that the captains of the king of Assyria, having fought 
with Manasseh, defeated him, and took him “among the thorns,” 
where he had hid himself, “ and bound him with fetters, and car- 
ried him to Babylon. And when he was in affliction he besought 
the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of 
his fathers, and prayed unto him ; and he was entreated of him, 
and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem.” 
And then we learn how he cast away his strange gods, and repaired 
the altar of the Lord, and “commanded Judah to servo the Lord 
God of Israel.” In the thirty-fourth and thirty-fifth chapters, are 
contained the acts of the reign of the pious king Josiah ; how he 
purged Jerusalem from its high places, and groves, and carved 
images, and molten images ; and cleansed Judah in the same 
manner ; and repaired the house of the Lord ; and read the 
neglected law to the elders and people ; and kept the feast of the 
passover: and, at last, rashly fought with Necho, king of Egypt, 
when he was shot by the Egyptian archers, and died of his wounds, 
lamented by the prophet Jeremiah, and by all Judah and Jerusa- 
lem. The thirty sixth chapter records the short reigns of Jeho- 
ahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah, the last Jewish king, 
when Jerusalem was entirely destroyed, and the king and people 
carried off as captives into Babylon. 

The last paragraph of this book speaks of the deliverance of 
the Jews from their captivity, and their restoration to their own 
land ; of which we have a more particular account in the boot 
which follows — The Book of Ezra. 




ARTAXERXES GIVING HIS LETTER TO EZRA. 






THE QUEEN OF SHEBA’S VISIT TO SOLOMON 



677 



child’s commentator. 


EZRA, 

OE, 

THE HISTORY OF THE RESTORATION OF THE JEWS FROM 
THEIR CAPTIVITY IN BABYLON. 


THE FIRST AND SECOND CHAPTERS OF EZRA. 

The Proclamation of Cyrus for Restoring the Temple. 

i4 Thus saith Cyrus, king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath 
given me all the kingdoms of the earth ; and he hath charged 
me to build ^im a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.” — 
Chap. i. 2. 


We have seen to what a state of misery the Jews brought them- 
selves by their wilful disobedience of God’s commands, and re- 
peatedly sinning against him : and I cannot too often tell you, 
my inquiring friend, that sin, sooner or later, will be sure to be 
punished, unless God helps us in time to repent and turn from all 
our transgressions. I rejoice, too, that I am able to remind you, 
again and again, that pardon for our sins is to be obtained — and 
only to be obtained — through Jesus Christ, who died for sinners 
on the cross. It may almost seem unnecessary to tell you often of 
this, but, indeed, it is not so. Too many forget that they are 
sinners, and too many, who confess it, neglect to seek earnestly 




child’s commentator. 


678 

for pardon and mercy while they can, and so die in their sins— 
which is to die without hope of everlasting life. 

But now let us return to the Jews. Long had they wept by 
the rivers of Babylon, and their musicians, who used to play their 
sweet harps in Israel to the praise of God, had hung them upon 
the willows growing in abundance upon the banks of the rivers, 
expecting never to be called to use them again. But, after se- 
venty years of captivity, light broke out on their night of dark- 
ness, and they saw the dawn of another day of hope and joy ; for 
their long captivity was more dismal to them than a dark night 
is to us, and their prospect of deliverance more cheering than 
even to us are the first beams of the morning sun, peeping into 
the windows of our chamber, and inviting us to rise. 

Before we notice the contents of this book, it may be proper 
to tell you who Ezra was. He was a priest very skilful in the 
law, the son of Seraiah, the high priest, who was slain by Ne- 
buchadnezzar. He was also a ready scribe in the law of Mo- 
ses, and a careful student and collector of the sacred books. He 
has been called a second Moses, having been instrumental, like 
him, in leading Israel out of captivity ; in preserving the holy 
law as Moses gave it; and having lived, as it is said, the same 
number of years, that is, one hundred and twenty. 

The first chapter begins with the proclamation of Cyrus, the 
king of Persia, who having conquered Babylon, as Babylon had 
conquered the Jews, found the Jews captives there, was moved 
by God to set them all at liberty, and gave them every encourage- 
ment to return to their own country. The proclamation is very 
pompous, for he talks of “ all the kingdoms of the earth,” belong- 
ing to him ; but this is the style used by the eastern princes, who 
to this day think themselves the greatest of all monarchs. He, 
however, had a very great extent of territory, gained by conquest. 
An ancient historian says, he ruled over all Asia ; and the bound- 
aries of his dominions, in particular, embraced a large portion of 
that immense quarter of the globe, including at least above twen- 
ty nations ! It is, however, pleasing to see how Cyrus owns the 
dominion of God above his dominion, and says, “ The Lord God 
of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth.” God 



CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 679 

certainly permitted him to punish the Babylonians by conquest, 
as they had punished othgr nations, and thus, by war, he suffered 
one wicked people to be the scourge of another ; and when the 
Jews were in a state of mind to repent of their past offences, he 
again mercifully appeared to save them. The hearts of kings 
being in his hands, as well as the hearts of other men, he then 
prepared the heart of Cyrus to grant them deliverance, and this 
history shows us how it was received. 

In his proclamation, Cyrus says to the Jews, “ The Lord God 
of heaven hath charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, 
which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people 1 
— his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which 
is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel (he is 
the God,) which is in Jerusalem.” 

Most eagerly did “the chief of the fathers of Judah and Ben- 
jamin, and the priests and the Levites, accept of this release, for 
God had raised up their spirits to go up to build the house of the 
Lord.” 

Cyrus also commanded that those who were rich should help 
those who were poor, and give them silver, gold, goods, and cat- 
tle, to enable them to return and live in their own country. So 
“ all that were about them,” the Chaldeans as w r ell as the rich 
Jews, helped forward the return to the desolate land. 

Besides the money, goods, and cattle, thus given to these peo- 
ple, God also inclined the heart of Cyrus to give up all the rich 
plunder of the temple, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away. 
This consisted of golden and silver chargers or dishes, knives, 
basins, and other vessels of gold and silver, amounting in all to 
five thousand four hundred. 

The second chapter tells us how many “ went up out of the 
captivity,” and begins thus: — “Now these are the children of 
the province that went up out of the captivity.” The Jews are 
here called “children of the province,” because Judah was no 
longer a flourishing kingdom, but a province or conquered 
country, governed by the deputies of the conquerors. Some of 
these are called after their fathers, as the “ children of Asaph 
and some after the places from which they were carried away 




680 



child’s commentator. 

captive, as “ the children of Bethlehem.” The whole number that 
returned to their own country is here stated at forty-two thousand 
three hundred and sixty, besides seven thousand servants, and two 
hundred singing men. But then these were not the whole of the 
Jews. You have read before that many of the lower orders were 
left in the country to till the ground ; but all that were ingenious, 
as artificers, or rich, or had any influence in the country, were 
taken away. Moreover, many now fixed in Babylon, and who 
had no love for their own country, and no religion to make them 
desirous of serving God in his temple, remained behind. Among 
those named as going out of captivity, you will read of the Ne- 
thinims; these were they who waited upon the Levites in the 
temple. In the sixty-third verse you also read, that “ the Tirs- 
hatha would not let the children of the priests, that could not 
prove their genealogies, eat of the most holy things, till there 
stood up a priest with Urim and with Thummim. The Tirshatha 
is a word that signifies the governor, and means the chief man in 
authority over the Jews, which some suppose to have been Ne- 
hemiah. Of the Urim and Thummim you have before read, and 
you may remember that, through the Urim and Thummim, the 
priest used to inquire of the Lord for direction ; but now this 
means of inquiry was lost, and till it should be recovered, if it 
ever should — when it might be found out whether these doubtful 
persons had a right to live at the altar — the governor would not 
allow them to partake of those parts of the offerings and sacri- 
fices which belonged to the priests. 

See how God can do his people good, when after offending him, 
they return to him with all their hearts ! On account of their 
sins, they were chastised, by being made captives, and banished 
from their country, stripped of every thing. Now they are willing 
and glad to enjoy their privileges, and know how to value them, 
and wish to return to the service of God, he makes all things to work 
together for their good. Their masters set them free, they are 
restored to their country, and the hearts of many are opened to 
aid them ; and, as in the former days, the Egyptians aided their 
fathers with their “jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and rai- 
ment,” in escaping from the house of bondage, God now sends 



child’s commentator. 


681 

them back abounding in riches. In the catalogue of their wealth 
there are mentioned, seven hundred and thirty-six horses, two 
hundred and forty-five mules, four hundred and thirty-five cam- 
els, six thousand seven hundred and twenty-five asses, and gold, 
silver, and precious stuffs. The amount of their gold has been 
computed at three hundred and eighty-one thousand two hundred 
and fifty dollars, which does not include the rich vessels of the 
temple that were restored. Besides the value of the gold, we must 
also notice that of the silver, which is reckoned at two hundred 
and twenty-five thousand dollars; making altogether, exclusive 
of the temple utensils, the sum of six hundred and six thousand 
dollars in gifts of gold and silver. 

Thus, we find God, in the midst of judgments, remembered 
mercy, and gave the Jews favour in the land of their captivity. 

Before I close this chapter, 1 must, however, prevent a mistake 
which you may be liable to make, without an explanation. The 
Jews here released were only those of the tribes of Judah and 
Benjamin, which formed the kingdom of Judah. These, you re- 
member, were carried away captives by Nebuchadnezzar, the 
king of Babylon ; and Babylon being conquered by Cyrus king of 
Persia, they were now released by that conqueror. But the ten 
tribes, which formed the kingdom of Israel, were made captives 
by the Assyrians, and they were so scattered about by their con- 
querors, that they mixed themselves with the heathen, or were 
transported to very distant places, and they were never restored. 
Inquiries have often been made to see if any remnant of them 
can be found, but all in vain; and now for twenty-five hundred 
years, no one knows any thing of them or their descendants. 


THE THIRD CHAPTER OF EZRA. 

The laying of the Foundation of the Second Temple. 

"And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they 
praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the 
Lord was laid.” — Ver. 11. 


682 


child’s commentator. 


Having been restored to their land, the Jews did not long de- 
lay the rebuilding of the temple ; but as the length of time it would 
take to rear such a superstructure was too long to wait for pub- 
licly worshipping God, they immediately set to work and pre- 
pared the altar, headed by Jeshua the priest, and Zerubbabel the 
chief prince. To this they were the more urged, from the cir- 
cumstance of their having many enemies around them, who now 
dwelt in the land ; and they had some apprehension that they 
might personally impede them in their labours, or gain some al- 
teration of the permission granted them to rebuild their temple. 

When the altar was erected they offered up the continual burnt- 
offering, and observed all the set feasts of the Lord, and offered 
every man’s free-will offering. And then they gave money to the 
masons to buy stones, and to the carpenters to buy timber, for 
the new temple. And they gave provisions to the people of 
Tyre and Zidon — who, probably, liked to be so paid in prefe- 
rence to receiving money — and from them they obtained cedar. 

In the second year of their restoration, and when the materi- 
als were ready and the ground properly cleared, the building 
was begun ; and all the Levites of twenty years of age and above, 
were employed in helping on the work in. every way in their 
power. 

And now the priests were appointed to blow their trumpets 
while the foundation was laying ; and the Levites to play upon 
their cymbals, which were musical metal instruments like hollow 
basins, held in each hand, and struck one against another. 

And the priests and Levites “ sang together by course, in prais- 
ing and giving thanks unto the Lord, because he is good, for his 
mercy endureth for ever toward Israel.” By singing 4 ‘ by course,” 
is meant, that they sang by turns, and answered one another, 
praising God for bringing them back to their own land, and en- 
abling them to rebuild the temple. “ And all the people shouted 
with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the foun- 
dation of the house of the Lord was laid.” 

it was now between fifty and sixty years since the old temple 
was destroyed; and many of the old men yet lived to remember 
it ; and when the foundation of the new house was laid, they 


i'HE BUILDING INTERRUPTED 









RUINS OF TV ILK 






child’s commentator. 685 


* wept with aloud voice.” Why? Were they not glad too? Yes, 
they were glad ; but they had also reason to weep, for they had seen 
what their younger brethren had not, and what they never could 
expect to see. They had no riches to build so splendid a temple 
as that which had been laid in ruins. And if they could have 
made it as splendid, its chief glory was departed. The most pre- 
cious treasures it contained were for ever gone ; — the heavenly 
fire, the mercy-seat, the heavenly manna, Aaron’s rod that bud- 
ded, the sensible presence of God, and, most probably, the Urim 
and Thummim: all were lost in the general desolation. 

Thus, with a singular mixture of joy and sorrow, was this se- 
cond temple begun ; for “ the people could not discern the shout 
of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people ; for the peo- 
ple shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off.” 

The prophet Haggai, however, comforted them on this occa- 
1 fc sion, by assuring them that the glory of this latter house should 
|! exceed that of the former, because the Lord (Jesus Christ) was 
1 2 to come to this temple, and fill it with his glory. 


THE FOURTH CHAPTER OF EZRA. 

The Building of the Temple hindered. 

“ Then ceased the work of the house of God, which is at J erusa- 
lem.” — Ver. 24. 


No sooner had the Jews begun to rebuild their temple, than 
the Samaritans, who greatly disliked them, and whom they also 
greatly disliked, used every kind of artifice to stop their work. 

When they heard that these “children of the captivity,” who 
had long been captives, or were the sons of captives, and who 
were still subjects of Cyrus— when they heard that they were 
building the temple unto the Lord God of Israel, they went to 
Zerubbabel, the prince, and to the chief of the fathers, and said, 
“ Let us build with you.” They pretended to want to share in 
the temple, which they knew the Jews could not allow ; and they 



686 




child’s commentator. 

said, “ We seek your God, as ye do.” Now this was not true, 
for they worshipped idols. “Zerubbabel and Jeshua, and the 
rest of the chiefs of the fathers,” very properly refused their aid, 
and said, “Ye have nothing to do with us, to build an house unto 
our God ;” for they were neither of the same nation nor of the 
same religion. 

Then these people, and others that united with them, who had 
been sent to occupy the land when Judah was carried into cap- 
tivity, all united to thwart the work. They even hired persons to 
make it their business to contrive schemes against them. They 
could certainly impede them in various ways. Sometimes by 
quarrelling with the workmen ; sometimes by hindering the pur- 
chase or arrival of materials; and sometimes persuading the 
King’s servants not to allow them any aid, in carrying the decree 
of Cyrus into execution. If Cyrus had been at home, perhaps he 
would have inquired about their progress ; but history informs 
hs, that about this time he was engaged in wars abroad with the 
Lydians and Scythians, and, so, leaving his son — who was no 
friend to the Jews — to govern in his absence, the work went on 
but slowly, and attended by many discouragements. 

Ahasuerus — or Cambyses, as he is called in other histories — • 
succeeded his father Cyrus ; and, as soon as he was placed on the 
throne, the enemies of the Jews wrote letters of complaint against 
them, to make him look upon them with greater jealousy and 
dislike. 

In the same way they afterwards wrote to Artaxerxes. He is 
thought by some to have been an impostor, who, feigning himself 
to be the brother of Cambyses — who had been put to death — 
usurped the empire. Some, however, think that this is another 
name given to Ahasuerus, who is also called Darius ; Artaxerxes 
being a common name for the kings of Persia, just as Pharaoh 
was for the kings of Egypt, and as Czar is now for the Emperors 
of Russia. 

We have here the copy of the letter sent to the king, and 
signed by the principal men who lived in the land. 

“ Thy servants, the men on this side the river” —that is, beyond 
the river Euphrates, “ and, at such a time” — meaning the date. 




child’s commentator. 687 

“ Be it known unto the king, that the Jews which came up from 
thee to us, are come unto Jerusalem, building the rebellious and 
the bad city, and have set up the walls thereof and joined the 
foundations. 

“ Be it known now unto the king, that, if this city be builded, 
and the walls set up again, then will they not pay toll, tribute, 
and custom, and so thou shalt endamage the revenue of the 
kings. 

“ Now, because we have maintenance from the king’s palace, 
and it was not meet for us to see the king’s dishonour, therefore 
have we sent and certified the king, that search may be made in 
the book of the records of thy fathers ; so shalt thou find in the 
books of the records, and know that this city is a rebellious city, 
and hurtful unto kings and provinces, and that they have moved 
sedition,” or, been troublesome, “ within the same of old time ; 
for which cause was this city destroyed. 

“We certify the king, that, if this city be builded again, and 
the walls thereof set up, by this means thou shalt have no por- 
tion on this side the river.” 

The last clause of the letter was enough to frighten the king, 
for it warned him that, if he did not take care, the Jews would 
not only shake off his yoke, and refuse to pay tribute themselves, 
but would seize on all his dominions on that side the river, and 
annex them to their own. 

So the king directly caused search to be made ; and he found 
in the records an account of past efforts made by the Jews to set 
themselves free from their conquerors — which certainly was very 
natural — and he wrote to his chief officers in the land of Judaea, 
and told them he had found that the Jews had been seditious, and 
that, in past times, they had had mighty kings, who had subdued 
the neighbouring nations, and therefore he commanded that the 
city should not be built till further orders. 

Delighted at their success, the opponents of the Jews now 
made haste to Jerusalem, and took with them forces enough to 
oblige them to give up their work. 

It is computed by the reigns of these kings, that the Jews had 
now been employed on their temple during fourteen years, and 
26 



child’s commentator. 


688 

the work “ ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius, 
king of Persia,” which was for about three years. 


THE FIFTH AND SIXTH CHAPTERS OF EZRA. 

The Building of the Temple continued . 

“Then rose up Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua, the 
son of Jozadak, and began to build the house of God which is 
at Jerusalem ; and with them were the prophets of God help- 
ing them.” — Chap. v. 2. 

In the second year of Darius, king of Persia, God stirred up 
the prophet Haggai and Zechariah to reprove the Jews for their 
sloth, and negligence of building the temple, when they were 
careful enough to raise up goodly houses for themselves to dwell 
in. They also reproved them for being intimidated by the com- 
mand of the king of Persia, which only forbade the building of 
the city — that is, the walls of it — but not the temple, any more 
than the walls of their own houses ; and besides, there was now 
a new king, from whom they had not so much to fear. 

The prophets roused the spirits of Zerubbabel and Jeshua, and 
they again urged on the building of the temple, while the pro- 
phets helped them with encouragement and advice. 

The old governors of the land were now dead, or removed by 
the new king, but their successors still interrupted the Jews. So 
Tatnai, the governor, and Shethar-boznai, and others, went to 
them and said, “ Who hath commanded you to build this house, 
and to make up this wall ?” — that is, the wall of the temple. 

Then the Jews told them who were the persons engaged in 
erecting the building. And “ the eye of their God was upon the 
elders of the Jews,” looking favourably at them, so that they felt 
a secret comfort from heaven encouraging their hearts to go on 
with their work, till the matter should be settled by Darius, to 
whom it was referred. 

The governor Tatnai then wrote to Darius, and told him that 



child’s commentator. 


689 


the Jews were going on with their temple, and that they said that 
Cyrus had made a decree to permit them so to do. And they 
advised the king to have the records searched, to see whether or 
not such a decree was really made in their favour. 

Darius, therefore, gave orders to search the place where the 
government writings were kept, but where, it appears, the de- 
cree of Cyrus was not found. However, on further inquiry, it 
was discovered at Achmetha, which was a city in Media, where 
the kings of Persia had their summer palace. 

Darius, having learned its contents, then ordered the governors 
not to disturb the Jews, but to help them with money to go on 
with their work, and with cattle, and whatever they wanted for 
their sacrifices. And he also threatened that whoever interrupted 
them from that time, should be hung on a gallows made of the 
wmod of his own house, and his habitation should be completely 
destroyed, and made only fit for a dunghill. Tatnai immediately 
obeyed the commands of the king. “ And the elders of the Jews 
builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai, 
the prophet, and Zechariah, the son of Iddo. And they builded, 
and finished it,” that is, the temple — “ according to the command- 
ment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of 
Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes, king of Persia.” The writer 
of the history here mentions the different kings who favoured the 
Jews after their captivity ; respecting the last named there is, 
however, some difference of opinion ; Darius had a son named 
Xerxes, who was his successor, but some think Artaxerxes Lon- 
gimanus, his grandson, is here intended, for history states that he 
sent Ezra to Judaea with new privileges, and that he was kind to 
Nehemiah. 

Thus the house was finished “ in the sixth year of the reign of 
Darius the king.” 

When the building was completed, “ the children of Israel,” that 
is, those of the ten tribes that remained after the body of the 
people were carried captive, or came with the Jews at their return 
— “ the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the 
captivity,” those of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, “ kept the 
dedication of this house of God with joy.” And they offered “ an 



690 


child’s commentator. 


hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs ; and, 
for a sin-offering for all Israel, twelve he-goats, according to the 
number of the tribes of Israel.” And they arranged the order of 
the priests to do the work in the temple by turns. And at its 
jfFoper time, they kept the passover. They also kept the feast of 
unleavened bread seven days, with joy. And God turned the 
heart of the “ king of Assyria to them, to strengthen their hands 
in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.” Cyrus and 
his successors possessed all the rights of the kings of Assyria as 
well as of Persia, and therefore were called by both names. 

We should have thought that, after such an instance of severe 
punishment in being carried into captivity, and, after such a dis- 
play of God’s goodness in their restoration, the Jews would never 
again have offended so grievously against God, but, when we 
come to the New Testament, we shall have occasion to speak of 
a second and more terrible captivity and dispersion, from which 
they have as yet never recovered. 


THE SEVENTH CHAPTER OF EZRA. 

Ezras prosperous Embassy to Babylon , and return to Jerusalem , 
favoured by King Artaxerxes. 

“ Then Ezra went up from Babylon ; and he was a ready scribe 
in the law of Moses which the Lord God of Israel had given : 
and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand 
of the Lord his God upon him.” — Ver. 6. 


This chapter begins with an account of Ezra himself, tracing 
back his descent from Aaron the high priest. It appears that in 
the reign of Artaxerxes, or, as some suppose, the seventh year of 
the reign of Darius, whom they consider as the same king, Ezra 
went a second time from Babylon, having first gone there with 
Zerubbabel. He was a scribe, as we have before said. He was a 
well-instructed scribe, having carefully studied the law ; and so he 
was well qualified to teach it to others. It is said that “ the king 



CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


691 


granted him all his request, according to the hand of the Lord his 
God upon him.” What the request was is not stated, but, with- 
out doubt, by his being again at Babylon, and making his appli- 
cations there, he was employed as a sort of ambassador, to obtain 
royal assistance in carrying into complet eeffect all the decree of 
Cyrus in favour of the Jews. God’s favour was with him ; and he 
prospered in his object. On his return, a great number of the 
children of Israel — perhaps some of the ten tribes which had been 
mingled with Judah and Benjamin — and also many of those who 
had to fill offices in the temple, finding it now finished, returned 
with him. 

It is said that “ Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of 
the Lord.” Now God only can prepare the heart to do any good 
thing ; as Solomon says, “The preparation of the heart is from the 
Lord.” But this expression only means, in this place, that he 
took great pains to know God’s will in his law. And not only to 
inquire what God’s will was, but also “to do it.” It is, indeed, a 
great wickedness to know all about God’s will, and yet not to 
serve him when we know it ; but many are so wicked as to know 
the Bible, and not to practise its holy commands. I hope God 
will give you grace to do better. I pray God that he may help 
you ; and I trust that you will yourself, dear young reader, pray to 
him also. A short prayer by King David will just suit you ; ar.d 
if you offer it up sincerely, in the name of J esus Christ, God will 
hear you. “ Show me thy ways, O Lord, teach me thy paths ; 
lead me in thy truth, and teach me ; for thou art the God of my 
salvation.” Ezra learned to do God’s will, that he might glorify 
God by practising it : — 

“ So let our lips and lives express 
The holy gospel we profess : 

So let our works and virtues shine, 

To prove the doctrines all divine.” 




Ezra also learned the holy truth of God, that he might “ teach in 
Israel statutes and judgments that is “ the laws moral, cere- 
monial, and civil.” By moral laws are meant those which relate 
to our duty to God and our neighbour — not to swear, break the 
Sabbath, lie, steal, and cb other wicked things, but to love God 



692 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


and to love our neighbours, and to try and do them good. By cere 
monial laws, are intended those which regulated all the customs of 
Jewish worship. And by civil laws, are pointed out those which 
regulate our conduct in society towards each other, especially as 
citizens, watching over each other’s interests as a body of people, 
and behaving orderly in our connexion with mankind around us. 

Such a man as Ezra, who learned, and did, and taught these 
laws, was indeed a blessing to his nation. To show how God 
approved of him, he gave him the greatest success at the court of 
Babylon ; for the king wrote a letter granting him a number of 
favours for his people, and giving him very great pow r er. He wrote 
a letter which, you will observe, begins, “ Artaxerxes, king of 
kings, unto Ezra the priest.” This title supremely, or above all, 
belongs to J esus Christ, who is “ King of kings, and Lord of lords.” It 
was however neither a profane, nor a fhlse title, as used by Artaxerxes, 
for he was king over other kings, who having been conquered by his 
people, were tributary to him, and held their crowns at his pleasure. 
In this letter, the king granted permission to all the Jews which 
yet remained at Babylon, to go to Jerusalem. He Also authorized 
him to inquire into all the behaviour of the Jews at Jerusalem, and 
to see if it was such as the law of his God required. He, likewise, 
with his nobles, gave him rich presents, and he granted him leave 
to collect gifts of gold and silver, and to take them to Jerusalem 
in aid of the temple ; particularly to buy beasts for the purpose of 
offering them up to God according to the law. He, moreover, gave 
him vessels of silver, gold, and copper, out of his own treasures, 
that he might take them for the temple ; and, if more aid were 
necessary, he was to go to the king’s treasure-house, where his 
taxes were laid up; and procure what he wanted. He might 
even take, if he needed it, “ one hundred talents of silver,” equal 
to one hundred and seventy-six thousand dollars. Also, “ one 
hundred measures of wheat,” which were about seventy -five wine 
gallons; and “one hundred baths of wine,” and “one hundred 
baths of oil a bath holding about seven wine gallons. In addition, 
he was to have as much salt as he thought proper, because this 
was used in all offerings, as, from its purifying qualities, it was an 
emblem of purity, showing us that God only accepts of what ia 


child’s commentator. 


693 


pure ; and so, if we give our hearts to him, he will not accept of 
them unless by his grace they are first made holy. The king alsc 
ordered the ministers of the hoi}' religion to be free from all tax- 
es ; and he authorized Ezra to appoint wise and just magistrates 
to govern the people, and to punish those that broke the laws. 

When Ezra thought of this kindness of the king, he blessed 
God, and owned that it was he who put it into the king’s heart. 
And Ezra gladly undertook to fulfil all his commission ; and, for 
this purpose, went to Jerusalem, accompanied by many chief 
men of Israel, whom he now persuaded to accompany him. 


THE EIGHTH CHAPTER OF EZRA. 

Ezra forwards the work of God at Jerusalem. 

“And they furthered the people, and the house of God.” — 
Ver. 36. 


In this chapter we have an account of those Jews that' accom- 
panied Ezra from Babylon to Jerusalem ; and how he gathered 
them together, procured ministers for the temple, proclaimed a 
fast to ask for God’s protection, as he would not ask the king for 
soldiers, lest it should show a want of confidence in God, and so 
dishonour him before the heathen ; and then how he divided 
amongst them the treasures he had procured for the temple ser- 
vices, the whole of which a learned writer reckons to have been 
worth five million one hundred and ninety-three thousand dol- 
lars; and some reckon it at double that. Then they left the river 
Ahava, where they had assembled, went to Jerusalem, took 
particular account of the treasure, and “ offered burnt-offerings 
unto the God of Israel,” and “ they furthered the people and the 
house of God,” adding to the comfort of the former and to the 
beauty of the latter. 


694 


child’s commentator. 


THE NINTH AND TENTH CHAPTERS OF EZRA. 

Judah's sinful Alliances , and general Reformation. 

“ Now, therefore, make confession unto the Lord God of your 
fathers, and do his pleasure ; and separate yourselves from the 
people of the land, and from the strange wives. 

“ Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice, 
As thou hast said, so must we do.” — Chap. x. 11, 12. 


I think I have more than once told you, that God had com- 
manded the Israelites not to marry the people of other lands, 
which were all heathen, and, therefore, served false gods. The 
reason of this, I also think, I have before mentioned to you — it 
was, lest they should be seduced by such marriages to forsake 
God, and to become the worshippers of idols. 

When Ezra had settled all that we have seen about the tem- 
ple, some of the pious princes went to him in great grief, and la- 
mented that this people had acted in a very ungrateful manner 
towards God, and, instead of serving him more faithfully, united 
themselves with idolaters, “doing according to their abomina- 
tions.” Widowers had even married Canaanitish and other hea- 
then wives, and sanctioned the same marriages among their sons ; 
not only so, but some of the princes and rulers, who, from their 
higher rank, ought to have set a better example, had been guilty 
of the like offence against God’s laws. 

When Ezra heard these things, he rent his clothes, plucked off 
the hair of his head and beard, and sat down silent on the ground. 
These were all customs among the Jews expressive of the great- 
est grief. While Ezra thus grieved, a number of pious men 
gathered themselves around him ; and at the time of the evening 
sacrifice, Ezra rose up, fell upon his knees, and lamented the sins 
of the people, and then left himself and them in the hands of God 
as a God of mercy. 

Seeing his excessive grief, great numbers had now gathered 
around him, and, while he wept, they also wept— -men, women, 


695 



child’s commentator. 




and children. At length, one whose name was Shecaniah acknow 
ledged the guilt of the people, and expressed a hope that they 
would do the evil complained of no more. He, therefore, advised 
that all the strange wives, which had been taken against the com- 
mand of God, should be put away ; and the chief priests, Levites, 
and all Israel, swore it should be done as Shecaniah and Ezra 
had proposed. 

Within three days after this, all Judah and Benjamin assem- 
bled, being called together, — and Ezra told them how they had 
sinned against God, and entreated them to put away their heathen 
wives. And they all said they would do so. 

Proper inquiry was then made about all their marriages, and 
in three months the examination was finished. 

It was found that all classes had some who were guilty ; and 
that in all, about one hundred and thirteen had married heathen 
women. 

Thus was this reformation effected. Those who did not approve 
of it, had no choice but to be “ separated from the congregation 
that is, they were not allowed to worship God in his temple, and 
were to be cut off from the people, and be left without the hope 
of true Israelites. Thus, my dear readers, we have no choice be- 
tween serving sin and serving God. If we continue to serve sin, 
we must be for ever cut off from his favour; but if we forsake 
sin, and serve him, he is full of grace and mercy, and will not 
fo :sake us. 




THE BOOK OF NEHEMIAH, 


OB, 

A CONTINUATION OF THE BOOK OF EZRA* 


THE FIRST, SECOND, THIRD, AND FOURTH CHAPTERS OF NEHEMIAH. 

Nehemiah' s Affliction at the State of Jerusalem — King Artaxerxes 
'permits him to go and rebuild its broken Walls — Sanballat and 
others oppose Nehemiah — The Building of the Wall of Jerusa- 
lem — The opposition of Sanballat and his Party — The deter- 
mined Conduct of Nehemiah. 

“ The God of heaven, he will prosper us ; therefore we, his ser- 
vants, will arise and build.” — Chap. ii. 20. 


This book begins with the state of the Jews at Jerusalem about 
ten years after the period mentioned in the Book of Ezra, and in 
the twentieth year of the reign of Artaxerxes. God so ordered 
matters, that at this time, some Jews had occasion to go to Shu- 
shan, or Susa, an ancient city in which was the winter palace of 
the kings of Persia. Nehemiah, a pious Jew, was at the time the 
king’s cupbearer, which was a place of great honour, and gave him 
an opportunity of being frequently in the king’s presence, and that 
at a time when his heart was cheerful, and he was disposed to be 
kind and good-natured. This good man having inquired of his 



Q1LE AD BEYOND JORDAN 














JEREMIAH WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM. 





brethren, the Jews, how things were going on at Jerusalem, was 
grieved to learn that the people were “ in great affliction and re- 
proaoh,” and that the wall of the city was still “ broken down,” 
and the gates were “ burned with fire,” as the Babylonians had 
left them. 

Then Nehemiah was very sorry, and he “ wept and mourned” 
for the sins of his country, which had been the cause of all its suf- 
fering; and he “fasted and prayed before the God of heaven,” 
beseeching him in behalf of his people, and that he might find 
favour with the king, in trying to do something for their good. 

At length, when he was waiting on the king, as he did not 
usually look dull, — for good men ought to look happy, — the king 
wondered to see him so dejected. And he told him he had great 
cause to be sad, for he had learned that the chief city of his be- 
loved country was still in ruins. Then the king wished to know 
what he could do for him ; Nehemiah paused a moment and 
prayed to God, perhaps thanking him for the favour he had 
already found with the king — for we should never forget to praise 
God for our mercies — and perhaps, also, asking God for wisdom to 
give a right answer. Then he asked the king to let him go to 
Jerusalem, and restore it from its ruins. And the king gave him 
leave to go, and allowed bim to fix his own time for staying. He 
next asked the king for letters to the governors of the country 
through which he should pass, that he might meet with every help 
from them in proceeding on his journey, and also, for a letter to 
the keeper of the king’s forest, that he might obtain from him any 
quantity of timber that might be necessary, for the workmen to 
use in rebuilding what was broken down. This too the king 
granted. It seems his heart was quite open and kind. Some people 
would say, Nehemiah was quite lucky to meet with the king in 
such a humour, but Nehemiah — like a good man who knew that 
the hearts of kings, as well as other men, are in the hands of the 
Lord — sees all his success as coming from God, and he says, “ The 
king granted me according to the good hand of my God upon me.” 

Nehemiah now set off, accompanied with a guard of honour 
from the king, to protect him all the way till he reached Jeru 
salem. 




700 child’s commentator. 

The enemies of the Jews were mad enough at seeing one of their 
countrymen arrive with so much dignity and authority, for they 
had probably some strong reasons to fear their recovering any 
power. Some had got possession of lands, which they, perhaps, 
thought they must at length give up to the original owners. 
The Ammonites, the Moabites, and the Samaritans, having for- 
merly been conquered by the Jews, were now pleased to see them 
humbled and conquered too, and all the heathen hated them be- 
cause they worshipped the true God. 

However, Nehemiah thought it prudent to make no bustle about 
what he was going to do, lest he should be opposed in his work. 
So he went in the night time, and looked all over the ruins of the 
city. And when he had seen what ought to be done, and laid his 
plans, he called together the chief men of the Jews, and he advised 
them to build up the wall which surrounded the city; and he told 
them of God’s goodness to him, and of his success with the king. 
They were so much delighted at this news, that they agreed at 
once to set to work and build, and encouraged one another in the 
undertaking. 

Then Sanballat, who was a Moabite, and a governor of the 
Samaritans, and Tobiah, an Ammonite, who had been raised from 
a slave, and who was now a governor as well as Sanballat, and 
Geshem, who was, most likely, an Arab chief, — tried all in their 
power to frighten the Jews, that they might not go on with their 
work. But Nehemiah knew what he was about, and he told them 
that he was sure God would prosper his countrymen, and therefore 
they should certainly build ; and as for those who opposed them, 
they had no right to meddle with the affairs of Jerusalem, and 
would do better to mind their own business. 

As soon as it was decided that the city should all be built up, 
every man took his share in the work, the priests first setting the 
example by building the sheep gate, which was most likely the gate 
through which the sheep were brought that were to be sacrificed 
in the temple. And, in addition to the priests, tradesmen and 
workmen of all sorts helped to build the walls, for some could re- 
move the rubbish, and others could collect and carry materials 
for the work and assist in handing them to the workmen, even 



child’s commentator. 


701 


though they could do no more. A few skilful hands only will 
soon build a house, but they must have many labourers to dig the 
foundation, and to fetch timber, and bricks, and lime, and mix the 
mortar, and carry the hods. Even the rulers united in this work, 
and probably not only by giving their gold and silver, but also 
their labour. The nobles of Tekoa were, indeed, exceptions, whose 
names are mentioned with disgrace, because “ they put not their 
necks to the work of the Lord” — meaning, that the ox works by 
drawing with his yoke on his neck, but they would have no yoke; 
or, in other words, they refused in any way to afford aid, and did 
not care at all about their city. The daughters of Shailum, the ruler 
of the half part of Jerusalem, were also among those that assisted. 
Perhaps, in their zeal, they even found something personal to do ; 
but, at all events, they aided in the purchase of many things that 
must have been needed. 

While this work was going on, Sanballat, the governor of Samaria, 
was much mortified, and tried to stir up the army which he com- 
manded; and he said, “ What do these feeble Jews] will they 
fortify themselves ] will they sacrifice ] will they make an end in 
a day]” — meaning, perhaps, that, unless they made very great 
haste indeed, they would find that a stop should be put to their 
work. “ Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish 
which are burned]” And Tobiah, the Ammonite, joined him, and 
laughed at the idea of the Jews being able again to build up their 
wall with such rubbish as they had got: “ Why,” said he, “ if a 
fox go up, it shall even break down their stone wall,” — it will not 
bear his weight. 

This came to the ears of Nehemiah, who felt for the honour of 
his God; and he was grieved, and prayed to God to take notice of 
his adversaries, leaving it in his hands to do as he in his wisdom 
and justice should think right. 

In the meantime the Jews proceeded so rapidly, that they soon 
carried up the wall all round the city, to half its proper height. 
{Sanballat and his companions now found, that while they were 
mocking, the Jews were working, and when they had learned 
that they had really built so much, their sneerings were turned 
into rage : “ they were very wroth.” Then they “conspired all of 


child’s commentator. 


702 

them together, to come and fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder 
it.” And they thought that they would make no show of what 
they intended to do, but go cunningly to work, and they said, 
“ They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst 
among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease.” So 
it is that bad men always try to prevent the doing of good 
things. 

Nehemiah, however, still went on with the work, and while his 
adversaries threatened, he prayed. And as prayer without the 
use of proper precaution would only have been presumption, ho 
also set a watch to give warning if the enemy should approach. 
Some of the men of Judah, indeed, seem to have been rather in 
fear that the enemy would succeed before the wall could be got up, 
for they said, “ The strength of the bearer of burdens is decayed,” 
through much labour in carrying heavy loads of stone and timber 
to the builders ; “ and there is much rubbish,” — a great deal more 
labouring work is yet to be done. The Jews, also, who dwelt 
near these Samaritans and their companions in opposition, brought 
very discouraging accounts of their intentions, and said “ ten 
times,” or, over and over again, as we should say — “ Which way 
soever you move,” you will have the enemy upon you ; “ from 
all places whence ye shall return unto us, they will be upon 
you.” 

Nehemiah met all this increasing appearance of danger with 
increasing caution. He placed people with swords, spears, and 
bows behind the low walls, which might be attempted before 
they were raised to their proper height ; and he also put men on 
the higher places or towers, to have the greater command of the 
enemy. And then he encouraged the people by an animating 
speech. “ Be ye not afraid of them,” said he, “ remember the 
Lord, who is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your 
sons, and your daughters, your wives and your houses.” However, 
when the adversaries saw that the Jews were aware of their inten- 
tions, they gave up the contest. 

Nevertheless, Nehemiah did not give up his caution, for he 
knew that he had a bitter and a subtle foe to deal with. Some 
men were still kept ready for any conflict, and all worked with one 




child’s commentator. 703 


hand, and held a weapon with the other ; or, at least, had it close 
at hand, or girt about them ; and some of the more weighty 
weapons were committed to the care of others near at hand — the 
spears, the shields, the bows, and the habergeons, or breast-plates, 
or coats of mail. Nehemiah also appointed a trumpeter to stand 
by him, and if he should see any danger, or hear any alarm — as 
the workmen were divided a great way from each other, all around 
the city — this trumpeter could blow his trumpet, and call them 
all to the place where their help was needed. He also ordered all 
the people to continue in Jerusalem to guard it by night, as well 
as to work by day. Thus they went on with the work, and, that 
they might be ready to meet any attack, they never even pulled 
off their clothes, except when it was necessary to send them to be 
washed. 





704 child’s commentator. 

THE FIFTH CHAPTER OF NEHEMIAH. 

Nehemiah' s noble conduct towards the oppressed Jews . 

‘ Think upon me, my God, for good, according to all that I have 
done for this people.” — Ver. 19. 

While Nehemiah was going on in his great work, many of the 
people, seeing his zeal for the good of his country, and relying on 
his wisdom and piety, flocked to him to make their complaints 
against their rich brethren of the Jews. These people had large 
families, and they were obliged to provide them with bread to 
keep them from starving. As there was a scarcity of corn, the 
rich had taken advantage of it to charge very high for what they 
had in their possession ; and when the poorer people had no more 
money left to pay for it, they obliged them to mortgage their 
lands, vineyards, and houses. To mortgage is a word used to 
express the giving anything of value to be held instead of money, 
till the party who gives the thing can get money enough to pay 
the debt, and something more than the debt, on account of the 
delay in paying it. What is called mortgaging in dealings of 
this kind with houses and land, is called pawning when it relates 
to trifling articles only. 

These people had also other heavy expenses, owing to a tax 
which they had to pay the Persian king, under whose authority 
they now were, and some had mortgaged their lands and vine- 
yards to help them to pay this tax. 

But even this was not the worst part of their distress. For the 
law permitting Jewish parents to sell their children in times of 
great necessity, they had been obliged to do so, though they 
loved them as well as the rich loved theirs, and though they had 
a right to enjoy the same privileges which they enjoyed, as a pe- 
culiar nation. Nor had they any hope of ever recovering them, 
as their lands and vineyards were not now in their hands to pur- 
chase their deliverance. 

Then Nehemiah “ was very angry,” as we may be at sin ; for the 
rich men, by oppressing the poor, and exacting usury — that is, a 


705 



child’s commentator. 

greater profit for the lending of their money than they ought to 
have had — had not only been cruel to their poor brethren, but 
nad broken God’s law, which forbade such conduct. And he re- 
buked the rich men ; and he had them gathered together before a 
number of their countrymen ; and he said to them, that he and 
his brethren in the Persian court had done all in their power to 
redeem any of their brethren who were sold to the heathen 
around them, in order that they might be restored again to their 
country, and would they now be so cruel to their own brethren ? 
And must he, Nehemiah, and his companions, be obliged to pay 
them, to redeem their own countrymen and women 1 ? 

To this they could answer nothing, for they felt ashamed. Then 
he told them that they ought to fear God more than to do such 
things in spite of his law, and even in the very face of the heathen. 
He, too, arid his brethren who had laboured with him, might also 
make their claims, but they would not be so wicked as to oppress 
the poor. “ I pray you then,” said Nehemiah, “ let us leave off 
this usury.” Then he urged them to restore the lands, vineyards, 
olive-yards, and houses, and as much of the people’s money as 
they had unjustly taken from them. So powerful are good words, 
connected with a good example, that the rich Jews could not help 
doing as Nehemiah desired ; and then he called the priests to take 
the oaths of these men that they would keep their promise. After 
this, he shook his lap, according to an eastern custom, — that is, 
he took up the fore-skirts of his garments, and shaking the dust 
out of them, as a symbol, or sign, he said, “ So God shake every 
man from his house, and from his labour, that performeth not his 
promise, even thus be he shaken out and emptied. And all the 
congregation said, Amen, and praised the Lord. And the people 
did according to this promise.” 

It is thought that Nehemiah remained a short time only at Je- 
rusalem, till the building of the wall was completed, and some 
other things were arranged ; and that, as he had asked permission 
from the king of Persia to be absent but for a short time, he there- 
fore returned, and kept his word. When the king heard about 
what he had done, and the state of the people, it is supposed that 
he then sent Nehemiah back again, with full authority to be their 





— i- 


706 child’s commentator. 

governor. For, in this chapter he says, that he was appointed to 
be governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year, even 
unto the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that is, 
twelve years ; and that, during that time, neither he nor his 
brethren had ever eaten the bread of the governor. The table of 
the governor was always supplied by the people with bread and 
wine, and, besides, he had a daily allowance in money; but Ne- 
hemiah neither took salary nor bread. Nor did either he or his 
people make any profit, by purchasing the lands of the distressed 
poor. And as for doing the work of the wall, his own servants 
laboured as much as any others, but no charge was made for it. 
In addition to this liberality, Nehemiah kept a good table, which 
was open to a hundred and fifty guests, but he made no charge, 
“because the bondage was heavy upon the people.” For all this 
he looked for reward from God only, not as if he had done any 
thing that could merit God’s favour ; but as God condescends to 
approve of what we do honestly in his sight, Nehemiah prayed, 
“ Think upon me, my God, for good, according to all that I have 
done for this people.” 


THE SIXTH CHAPTER OF NEHEMIAH. 

Artifices of Sanballat and his accomplices to ruin Nehemiah. 

“ My God, think thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat, according to 
these their works.” — Ver. 14. 


When Sanballat and his party heard that the wall of Jerusalem 
was completed, though, indeed, the gates of the city were not yet 
put up, they sent to Nehemiah, and invited him to meet them on 
a neighbouring plain, supposing, no doubt, that he would be 
ready to go, with a design to be reconciled to them. But this was 
not their design ; and Nehemiah was either informed of their 
wicked plots, or God impressed his mind with a sufficient warning. 
So Nehemiah sent a civil answer, without giving any reason why 


child’s commentator. 707 

he would not go. His answer was, “ I am doing a great work, 
so that I cannot come down ; why should the work cease, whilst 
I leave it and come down to you ?” So he would not go down 
from the eminence on which Jerusalem stood, and expose him- 
self to his treacherous enemies in the plain. 

No less than four times did Sanballat and his companions con- 
trive various methods to get Nehemiah to meet them, but he 
very wisely continued to give them similar answers. At last, 
Sanballat sent his servant with an open letter to him, which 
every one might read, and in which he told him that there was a 
report abroad that he was guilty of treason. This was the very 
way in which to spread such a report, and effect what he wanted 
— the ruin of good Nehemiah. Besides, this was a gross insult to 
a man of Nehemiah’s rank, as letters sent to great men in the 
East are always carefully folded up, and put into a handsome 
silk bag, and then the bag is carefully sealed. The words of the 
letter were these : — “ It is reported among the heathen, and 
Gashrnu saith it (the same person as Geshem, the Arabian,) that 
thou and the Jews think to rebel : for which cause thou buildest 
the wall, that thou mayest be their king, according to these 
words. And thou hast also appointed prophets to preach of thee 
at Jerusalem, saying, There is a king in Judah : and now shall il 
be reported to the king according to these words. Come, now, 
therefore, and let us take counsel together.” Nehemiah flatly 
replied to this message, that it was false, and that the whole was 
the invention of Sanballat himself. 

Sanballat was not yet tired of doing mischief, so he thought of 
other schemes to accomplish his purpose. Alas! how persevering 
are the wicked in doing their evil deeds ! let us be ashamed that 
we are not as much so in doing good, for we ought never to be 
weary in well-doing. 

One Shemaiah, supposed to have been a priest, pretended 
great friendship to Nehemiah, and tried to persuade him to flee 
to some place of safety, that he might hide from his enemies ; for, 
as they were so persevering, they would be sure to take him at 
last, and Kill him. But Nehemiah replied, “Should such a man 
as I flee 2” He was the king’s agent, he was the leader of all the 


708 



CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 

work ; and, if he fled, the people would stop the work and flee 
too ; the enemy would then, most certainly, enter by the open 
gates, and Sanballat would assume the authority, and he and the 
Jews be involved in complete destruction. Nehemiah, indeed, 
perceived that God had not sent this man to save him from any 
danger ; God gave him wisdom to see that there was some artful 
design hid under his seeming friendship ; and so it turned out, 
for lo, the crafty Sanballat had hired him ! 

In the midst of such difficulties as these the wall was at last 
completed. So diligent were Nehemiah and the Jews, that the 
whole labour occupied only fifty-two days. Sanballat and the 
other adversaries were now ashamed and vexed, that all their ef- 
forts had been useless to prevent the work ; but who can hinder 
what God designs to be done? And God was with Nehemiah to 
give him wisdom and courage, and to bless him. 

Besides what has been stated, Tobiah, the Ammonite, had cor- 
respondence with some of the nobles among the Jews, who were 
so treacherous as to give him an account of all that was passing ; 
they had even bound themselves by oath to serve his cause, and 
betray their country, because there was some relationship be- 
tween some of them and this man. Tobiah, too, had the audaci- 
ty to send letters to Nehemiah to put him in fear. 


THE SEVENTH AND EIGHTH CHAPTERS OF NEHEMIAH. 

Nehemiah' s wise measures to protect Jerusalem — The reading of 
the Law to all the people , and the keeping of the Feast of 
Tabernacles . 

“ And when the seventh month came, the children of Israel were 
in their cities.” — Chap. vii. 73. 

This chapter is supposed to relate to what Nehemiah did just 
before he returned to the Persian court, and so before he was 
appointed governor of the people. He made Hanani, the person 
who first told him of the sad state of Jerusalem, and Hananiah, 




child’s commentator. 709 

rulers during his absence. Some seem to think that both these 
names mean but one person, who is described as “ a faithful man,” 
and one that “ feared God above many.” All rulers ought to be 
men that fear God, that they may set a good example to others ; 
but all are not so. 

He also ordered that the gates of Jerusalem should be kept shut 
every morning, till the sun became hot ; that is, till it was likely 
there were plenty of people risen to defend the city from any 
attempts to enter it by the gates. A similar custom is still to be 
found among the inhabitants in the parts of the world about 
J udea ; for travellers inform us, that if a traveller arrives after 
sun-set he finds the gates shut, and on no consideration will they 
open them till the next morning, so that those who come late are 
obliged to lodge in the plain. Nehemiah further desired, that 
care should be taken to see that the gates were kept closed, and 
|/ that proper persons should be always on the watch to prevent 
] surprise from their enemies. 

i Jerusalem had not yet recovered its inhabitants. The city was 

' y still as large as it was when it was full of people, but the people 

I who returned from the captivity in Babylon, had not all taken 
up their abode there, “ and the houses were not builded.” The 
number that came out of captivity with Zerubbabel did indeed 
amount to forty -two thousand three hundred and sixty, and many 
more came with Ezra. Yet, a great number chose to settle in 
the towns and cities in the country, Jerusalem being in such a 
desolate condition. So Nehemiah says, “ My God put into mine 
heart to gather together the nobles, and the rulers, and the people, 
that they might be reckoned by genealogy. And I found a 
register of them which came up at the first, and found written 
therein, These are the children of the promise, that went out of 
the captivity.” This register directed Nehemiah to find out to 
what city each family formerly belonged, and who to the city of 
Jerusalem, “ that they might be called upon to come and rebuild 
their houses, and take up their residence there.” 

Nehemiah then gives us an account of the children of the pro- 
vince of Judea as it was now reduced, who came out of the cap- 
tivity of Babylon through the decree of Cyrus. He also tells us 


child’s commentator. 


710 

of the liberality of those who subscribed well for rebuilding the 
city and the temple; and he concludes by informing us, that 
in a short time, the children of Israel got all fixed in their own 
cities. 


And now we read of a grand assembly of the people, which took 
place in the open street, because, probably, there was no place 
large enough to hold them ; and that there, Ezra, at the request 
of the people, read the law of the Lord aloud, “from the morning 
until mid-day, before the men and the women, and those that 
could understand ; and the ears of all the people were attentive 
unto the book of the law.” This was a most serious meeting. 
The people all stood up to show respect, “ Ezra blessed the Lord, 
the great God,” who had given them his holy law, “and all the 
people answered Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands, and 
they bowed their heads and worshipped the Lord, with their faces 
to the ground.” 

There were many others who stood by the side of Ezra, and who 
most likely sometimes helped him by reading a few portions while 
he rested ; for, reading so long in the open air, to so great a number 
of people, must have fatigued him very much. These also, as 
well as Ezra, explained such parts as the people could not easily 
understand. 

The people were so much affected, that they all wept when they 
heard the words of the law, remembering how much they had 
broken it. And Nehemiah, the Tirshatha, or governor, “and 
Ezra, the priest, the scribe, and the Levites, that taught the people, 
said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the Lord your 
God ; mourn not, nor weep.” It seems that this meeting was on 
the feast of trumpets, which was kept on the first day of the 
Jews’ seventh month; and, as that was usually a day of joy, it 
was not keeping it aright to show sadness. So Nehemiah said 
unto them, “ Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and 
send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared : for this 
day is holy unto our Lord : neither be ye sorry ; for the joy of the 
Lord is your strength.” In other words, Nehemiah told the people to 
go home, for, after standing so long, they must want rest ; and tu 


711 


eat not merely a common meal, but to make a feast of joy of 
the best provisions ; and as many of the poor could get but little 
food, they must give to them that they might share in their plea- 
sure. Thus all would be made happy, both those who gave and 
those who received ; and if they did all out of gratitude and obe- 
dience to God, they would be strengthened, not only in body, but 
also in soul. So all the people did as they were ordered to do, 
and were happy. 

On the second day the chiefs of the fathers, or heads of the fa- 
milies and tribes, made further inquiries of Ezra, about the mean- 
ing of many parts of the law. “ And they found written in the 
law which the Lord had commanded to Moses, that the children 
of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month ; 
and that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and 
in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive 
branches, and pine branches, and myrtle branches, and palm 
branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is 
written that is, as it is written in the twenty-third chapter of 
Leviticus, and the fortieth verse. 

You will recollect, my dear young reader, that all this was 
ordered to be done for the purpose of keeping the Feast of Taber- 
nacles, which was held to keep in remembrance the travelling 
life of the Israelites in the wilderness, after they had been deliver- 
ed from Egyptian slavery. Now, having been delivered from 
the Babylonish captivity, and the proper time of the year occur- 
ring, it was their special duty to keep the same feast. 

So the people fetched the boughs, “ and made themselves booths, 
every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the 
courts of the house of God, and in the street of the water-gate, 
and in the street of the gate of Ephraim. And all the congrega- 
tion of them that were come again out of the captivity made 
booths, and sat under the booths,” during the seven days that the 
feast lasted, to remind them how their fathers dwelt in booths in 
the wilderness. Indeed, “ since the days of Jeshua,” or Joshua, 
“ the son of Nun, unto that day, had not the children of Israel 
done so.” Joshua observed the feast when he had brought and 
settled the people of Israel in the land of Canaan ; and it had been 




7 12 child’s commentator. 

observed since, but no Feast of Tabernacles had been so heartily 
and so piously celebrated. 


THE NINTH, TENTH, AND ELEVENTH CHAPTERS OF NEHEMIAH. 

A solemn Fa,st of the Jews — The People make a Covenant to serve 
God — A tenth of the Inhabitants of the Land go to live in Jeru- 
salem to people it. 

M And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, 
and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their 
fathers.” — Chap. ix. 2. 


After the Feast of Tabernacles was over, the people had a ge- 
neral fast, and spent six hours in hearing the law read to them, 
and in humbly confessing their sins before God. The ninth 
chapter chiefly consists of a solemn prayer which was offered up 
by the Levites on this occasion. In this prayer they called to re- 
membrance all the dealings of God with them as a nation for 
ages past, acknowledged their faults, owned that God was right- 
eous, and resolved on serving him with all their hearts, for the 
time to come. 

For this purpose, they had a solemn covenant, or agreement, 
drawn up, in which they promised that they would never again 
marry the heathen ; that they would keep holy the Sabbath-day ; 
and that they would provide for the continuance and support of 
God’s ministers and ordinances among them. A few signed and 
sealed this agreement for the rest, for it would have been a very 
difficult thing to have managed it otherwise for so large a number 
of people. 

Jerusalem was as yet, as you have been told, but thinly inhab- 
ited ; for, though it had many inhabitants, they were spread over 
a large space. The city, though walled round, was weak and des- 
picable, having but few defenders, compared with its size. Nehe- 
miah, therefore, next proceeded to take steps for filling it with 
inhabitants ; and so adding to its strength. For this purpose, he 
obliged one out of every ten of the country people to take up his 



JEWS' PLACE OF WAIL1NU AT THE OLD TERRACE WALL OF THE TEMPLE 







SIDON. AS SEEN FROM THE SEA SHORE. 



« 














715 



CHILD'S COMMENTATOR. 

abode there ; and that there might be no partiality shown, in favour^ 
ing any who might find it more convenient to live where they had 
already got comfortable houses, he advised that every ten should 
cast lots, and he on whom the lot fell should go and live at Jeru 
salem. Some, indeed, went there of their own accord ; and as it 
was then a place with but few advantages, and exposed to great 
dangers, the inhabitants blessed and prayed for them, for showing 
so much love to their poor city. 


THE TWELFTH AND THIRTEENTH CHAPTERS OF NEHEMIAH. 


The Dedication of the Wall of Jerusalem — Nehemiah completes 
the Reform of the Jews . 

“ Also that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced ; for God 
had made them rejoice with great joy ; the wives also and 
children rejoiced ; so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even 
afar off.” — Chap. xii. 43. 


The chief thing contained in the twelfth chapter is the account 
of the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem. 

The wall having been built, the princes, priests, and people, 
were all gathered together, to express their joy at its completion, 
and to thank God. This was the most sure way of securing its 
protection and defence in all future dangers. Then they all 
walked round it in two companies, singing psalms and sounding 
trumpets, and other musical instruments, in different ways, one 
taking the right, and the other the left; till, at last, they met 
again at one point. The walls being thick, the princes and priests, 
with the singers, could walk comfortably upon them ; and it is 
probable that the people walked round below, some within the wall, 
and some without. All that day they offered great sacrifices ; and 
not only were the men engaged, but also the women and children 
partook of the general joy. The hosannas of infants are not 
despised, when they offer them from their hearts to God. 

27 


I 

i 







718 child’s commentator. 

Nehemiah, having been called to the court of his royal master 
was some time absent from Jerusalem ; and on his return to see 
how things went on, he was greatly grieved to find that many 
wicked things had been done. Eliashib, the chief priest having 
formed an alliance by marriage with Tobiah, the Ammonite, which 
was contrary to the law of God, and wishing to accommodate him 
in the city, had even given him a place in the sacred temple. Out 
of several little chambers which had been used for keeping stores to 
support the Levites, he had made one grand apartment for this 
heathen man. This was setting a bad example to the people, pro- 
faning the courts of God’s house, and injuring the portion of the 
priests, and was in direct opposition to God’s law, which declared 
“that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the 
congregation of God for ever. Because they met not the children 
of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against 
them, that he should curse them.” 

Nehemiah very speedily turned out every thing belongingto this 
wicked Ammonite : and had the chamber well cleansed, as a sign 
of washing away its defilement from his footsteps ; and he replaced 
the vessels of the house of God, and other things which had before 
been kept there for sacred uses. 

Then he found out that the Levites had been neglected, and the 
people cared so little about religion, that not having provided for 
them, as God had commanded, they had all left the city, and gone 
into the fields to work for themselves. He also soon remedied this 
evil, and brought back the Levites, and made the people bring 
their tithes of corn, wine, and oil, into their treasuries. 

There being no regard paid to religion, the Holy Sabbath was 
shamefully abused. God had commanded it to be kept as a holy 
day, and that no manner of work should be done in it; but, 
on that day they worked their wine-presses, to squeeze out the 
juice of the grapes for the purpose of making wine ; and they 
carried their corn, and loaded their asses, and traded with the men 
of Tyre, who were a sort of pedlars, having many wares to sell. 
Nehemiah reproved all this sin, and especially the nobles, who 
ought to have used their authority to prevent it; and he reminded 
them that because their fathers had sinned in the like way, they 


I 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


717 


their children had so long been suffering, and that this was like 
asking God to punish them again for their iniquity. To prevent 
any more trading on the Sabbath, he ordered the gates of Jeru- 
salem to be shut from the evening before the Sabbath, till the 
morning after ; and, as he could not trust the faithless men who 
had been porters at the gates, he set his own people to keep them, 
that no one should enter the city on the Sabbath, with any mer- 
chandize about him. The Tyrian traders did not like to be balked 
in their dealings, and lounged about outside the walls on the Sab- 
bath-day, hoping to entice some of the people to go out of the 
city, and to deal with them. However, Nehemiah was as sharp 
as they ; and, seeing what they were about, he told them, “ if ye 
do so again, I will lay hands on you !” and this frightened them 
so, that they did not come any more on the Sabbath. 

A great many of the Jews had also married strange wives “ of 
Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab,” and their children, instead of 
understanding their language, to be able to learn the law of God, 
were only fit for heathen, and knew but the languages of their 
heathen mothers and nurses, which they had taught them. So 
these Jews would be the fathers of idolaters. With these men 
Nehemiah also contended, when they tried to excuse themselves. 
And he “ cursed them that is, he denounced the judgments 
which God had spoken against them ; and “ he smote certain of 
them,” or ordered them to be beaten, according to the law ; 
and “ he plucked off their hair,” to shame them, as they had no 
shame in sinning thus openly against God. He also obliged them 
to swear, that, for the time to come, they would never more suf- 
fer any such marriages to take place. 

Nehemiah, likewise, found out that a branch of the high priest’s 
own family — one of his grandsons — had married a daughter of 
Sanballat, that notorious enemy of the Jews. How little love had 
that man either to God or his country, who could make himself 
in duty and interest, a friend to him that was a sworn enemy to 
both ! It seems this young priest would not put away Vis wife, 
and therefore Nehemiah chased him from him— deprived him, 
degraded him, and made him for ever incapable of the priest* 
hood. 








718 child’s commentator. 

Thus did Nehemiah reform and benefit his countrymen, the 
Jews, and aim to promote the honour and glory of his God ; 
looking only for his reward in heaven. This is what he meant 
when he so often prayed, “ Remember me, O my God. concern- 
ing this.” For God does not forget what we do for his glory, 
though it is our duty to do it, though what we can do is but lit- 
tle, and though he has no need of our services for his own bene- 
fit, but all the benefit belongs to ourselves. Young reader ! “ only 
fear the Lord, and serve him,” and he will be sure in his 
mercy to remember you “ for good.” 




child’s commentator. 


THE BOOK OF ESTHER, 


OR, THE 


HISTORY OF A JEWISH CAPTIVE, WHO WAS MADE QIJEEN 
OF PERSIA, AND SAVED THE LIVES OF THE JEWS. 



THE FIRST CHAPTER OF ESTHER. 


The Royal Feast of King Akasuerus — Queen Vashti refuses to 
show herself to his nobles and princes — ■ The King's Decree 
depriving the Queen of her dignity. 


But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s coramand- 


u 


ment by his chamberlains; therefore was the king very wroth, 
and his anger burned in him.” — Ver. 12. 


The wonderful history which we have in this book is of events 


which happened in the time of Ezra, and Ahasuerus, the king 
mentioned, is, by some, supposed to have been Xerxes, the re- 
nowned Persian conqueror. The Bible, as I have before said, is, 
however, not particular in informing us about the heathen kings, 
whose names would never have been mentioned there, had they 
not happened to have a share in some part of the Jewish 
history. The Old Testament is the history of the Jews only,— 
the people whom God favoured, and among whom his worship was 
preserved in the world, when all the other people of it were 



CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 

idolaters. Ahasuerus being a common name given by ancient 
authors to Persian kings, the Scripture has not particularly shown 
which king of them it was ; it was enough for the interesting 
parts of this history, to know that it happened with a Persian 
king. 

We here learn that this prince reigned over an hundred and 
twenty-seven provinces, or large tracts of country, managed by 
different governors. 

Ahasuerus had a palace in Shushan, the chief Persian city. 

In the third year of his reign he made a grand feast for all the 
nobles and princes who governed his hundred and twenty-seven 
provinces. This feast lasted “ an hundred and fourscore,” that is, 
an hundred and eighty days, and, after it was over, he gave 
a feast to all the attendants in his palace, which lasted seven 
days. 

It is said, that it is still the custom in Persia to keep a yearly 
feast for the same time ; for in that country, the manners and 
customs of the people have not changed as they have with us. It 
is supposed, that in this second feast, many thousands were enter- 
tained ; so splendid and expensive are the feasts of the rich 
Persians. 

On such occasions it was customary, and probably is now, to 
hang the place about with rich curtains of various colours, and 
Ahasuerus had hangings of white, green, and blue, “ fastened with 
cords of fine linen and purple, to silver rings,” for them to be 
drawn by. and “ pillars of marble” at each end, to support them. 
“ The beds,” — or rather couches, on which the guests sat or leaned 
while eating, according to the custom of the Eastern people, — 
“ had their legs made of gold, and their feet of silver, and were, 
likewise, covered with gold and silver cloth ; and the floors were 
paved with beautiful marbles of different colours, red and blue, 
and white and black.” The guests also drank out of gold cups, 
and had as much wine as they would drink. The king, how- 
ever, did not urge any to take more than they liked, so that 
if any went away not sober, it was their own fault so to disgrace 
themselves. 

In the Eastern countries, the women never mingle with the men, 




CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


721 


as they do with us ; hence the queen Vashti — or beautiful, which 
Vashti means — and the ladies, had a grand feast by themselves, at 
the same time also, in the royal house. 

After the feast had lasted seven days, Ahasuerus was talking 
with his nobles about the beauty of his queen ; and, that he might 
convince them how handsome she was, he sent some of his officers 
to fetch Vashti and show her to the company. Vashti was either 
too proud to allow herself to be shown before a set of nobles and 
strangers, who perhaps were scarcely sober, — or, very likely, 
she was so modest that she would rather run the risk of displeas- 
ing the king, than join for a moment such a large company of 
wine-drinkers, all being men. Had she been vain of her beauty, 
she would no doubt have gone to display it, but she seems to have 
had more good sense and decency. 

If the king had had as much good sense left, he would have 
praised her for her virtue, and for her proper sense of decorum, in 
not letting herself down as a queen ; but his wine had deprived 
him of his wit, and made him stupid. When a man has drunk 
too much wine, he is also often put easily into a passion — and, on 
being told that the queen would not come, the king was in a great 
rage. 

So he directly consulted his wise men, or counsellors, that knew 
the laws, and asked what he should do with Vashti for not 
obeying his commands. One of them, named Memucan, said, that 
the queen had not only insulted the king, but had set a bad 
example to the ladies of the whole kingdom, who, if Vashti were 
not punished, would never mind what their husbands wished them 
to do. He, therefore, thought that the king should separate 
himself from Vashti for ever, and choose another queen. This 
Memucan then advised the king to write a decree to that purport, 
and to send it all over the kingdom. Now, when the king had 
written a law, according to the custom of the Medes and Persians, 
he could not alter it, and so, when he had done this, Vashti could 
never again be queen. This is thought to have been very cunning 
advice in Memucan, for, if the king had not made the decree, he 
might have restored Vashti to favour, and then she would have 
punished her enemies for trying to deprive her of her dignity 


child’s commentator. 



722 


“ And the saying pleased the king and the princes, and the king 
did according to the word of Memucan.” 


THE SECOND CHAPTER OF ESTHER. 

Esther made Queen of Persia — Plot against the King. 

“ So Esther was taken unto king Ahasuerus, into his house royal, 
in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh 
year of his reign.” — Yer. 16. 

When King Ahasuerus got sober, and his anger no longer raged, 
he began to think how foolish he had been to be offended with his 
queen. And he “ remembered Vashti,” and how much he loved 
her, and “ what she had done,” — only having committed a small 
offence, if any offence at all — “ and what was decreed against her” 
— that she should lose her rank, and that without hope of 
recovery. 

In order to soothe the king’s mind, and take away his thoughts 
from Vashti, his counsellors advised him to appoint officers all 
over the kingdom to look out all the beautiful women they could 
find, and to send them to one of the king’s chief officers, called his 
chamberlain; and he should take care that they should be pro- 
perly perfumed and dressed fit to see a king of the East ; and then 
the one that the king liked best should be his queen. 

At this time God’s providence so ordered it, that there happened 
to be “ a certain J ew, whose name was Mordecai,” residing in the 
king’s palace at Shushan. He was a great-grandson of Kish, one 
of those whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive int© 
Babylon. “ And he brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his 
uncle’s daughter, for she had neither father nor mother ; and the 
maid was fair and beautiful, whom Mordecai, when her father and 
mother were dead, took for his own daughter.” Hadassah was 
the original name of this Jewess, and means myrtle; and Esther 
was the Persian name given to her, which signifies a star, because 
she was a shining beauty. 




child’s commentator. 723 

When Hegai, the keeper of the women, saw this Jewess, he was 
pleased with ner ; and so, indeed, were all who saw her ; not only 
because she was beautiful, but because she was contented and 
happy, and “required nothing but what Hegai, the king’s 
chamberlain, the keeper of the women, appointed. Esther, how- 
ever, took care not to say she was a Jewess, for her uncle Mor- 
decai advised her to keep that a secret, lest she should be despised 
for it. 

After the ceremony of twelve months’ preparation, the king saw 
all the women that had been gathered from different parts of the 
kingdom, and “ the king loved Esther above all the women, and she 
obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins,” 
or unmarried women ; “ so that he set the royal crown upon her 
head,” and made her queen instead of Vashti. And “then the 
king made a great feast unto all his princes and servants, even 
Esther’s feast;” which some think lasted as long as a month ; “and 
he made a release to the provinces,” that is, he w r ould not take the 
taxes which the conquered provinces owed him up to the time ; 
“ and gave gifts according to the state of the king,” or suitable to 
his grandeur, Esther sharing of them largely, as Eastern queens 
usually did. 

Mordecai got now to be appointed one of the officers in the ser- 
vice of the king, which he probably obtained through Esther, 
though she had not yet explained her relationship to him. While 
he was performing his duties, he found out that Bigthan and 
Teresh, tw o officers who kept the door of the king’s bed-chamber, 
had laid apian to kill Ahasuerus, with whom they were angry for 
something he had done to them. Mordecai, like a faithful servant, 
immediately let Esther know of the scheme, and Esther directly 
told it to the king, and informed him how she knew about it 
through Mordecai. So inquiry being instantly made, the whole 
plot was discovered, and the two chamberlains were hanged, after 
which an account of the traitors, and of their discovery and exe- 
cution, was written in a book of the history of the country, which 
was kept for the use of the king. 




724 child’e commutator. 


THE THIRD CHAPTER OF ESTHER. 

Hainan's Exaltation , and Plan to destroy the Jews. 

“ Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughou 
the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.” — Ver. 6. 


After the marriage of Esther, and the discovery of the con 
spiracy against Ahasuerus, the king promoted “ Haman, the son 
of Hammedatha, the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat 
above all the princes that were with him.” This man was, there- 
fore, a very great favourite at court ; for it was the custom of the 
kings of Persia to advance those to the highest seats they thought 
best deserved it. And all the king’s servants “ bowed and re- 
verenced Haman, for the king had so commanded concerning him : 
but Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence.” It is thought 
by some that this reverence was more than that respect which one 
person pays to another, and especially which the lower ranks pay 
to those above them; and that Haman was honoured with a sort 
of adoration which ought alone to be given to God. Had it been 
mere respect that he wanted, Mordecai would certainly not have 
been so destitute of common decorum as not to have paid it to him 
at the command of the king ; but if he wanted honours which 
ought to be given to God only, Mordecai, as a devout Jew, would 
not be guilty of such base idolatry. 

The other servants of the king took notice of the conduct of 
Mordecai, and talked to him about it; and at last they told 
Haman, that he might take particular notice of him ; and especially 
as Mordecai was a Jew, and the more likely to excite his displea- 
sure by his disobedience. Mordecai had, indeed, told them of what 
race he was, probably as a reason why he did not act as they did. 

When Haman saw how Mordecai behaved, he was “ full of 
wrath ;” but as it was beneath his dignity to notice the insult of 
such a person, he resolved on taking a dreadful vengeance on al’ 
the Jewish people in Persia. Revenge is sweet to wicked people 




CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


725 


while good people are ready to pardon even their most bitter 
enemies. Haman would here slay the innocent with the guilty, 
to gratify his revenge; and, by killing all the Jews, he supposed that 
he should get rid of a people who would be likely to copy the 
example of Mordecai, and show him the same kind of indifference; 
and, that by making so terrible an example, the whole kingdom 
would in future be afraid to mention his very name but with 
honour. 

The heathen nations of old were like many of them now, and 
had a notion that certain days of the year, and certain signs, were 
lucky ; and so they would not undertake any great thing till their 
luck should come, in order to fix upon a lucky day, Haman’s 
people cast lots before him, as many people throw dice, draw cards, 
or toss up half-pence, to decide about any thing, particularly in 
certain games. God, with whom is the luck of every thing, and 
who alone regulates all things to bring about his own glory at 
last, so ordered it, that while these lots were cast from month to 
month, the lucky day was delayed for a full year; for it did not 
seem to turn up till “ the twelfth month.” Haman’s disposition 
towards the Jews being known, they had, therefore, sufficient time 
to pray to God, and to determine what to do. 

Having determined the time for executing his plan, Haman 
complained to the king that there was a certain people spread all 
about the provinces, who disobeyed the king’s laws, and that it 
was dangerous to allow them to live. He, therefore, advised that 
the king should decree their destruction ; and to make up for the 
loss of so many people who payed him tribute, he, Haman, was 
willing to pay a large sum out of his own purse. This man must 
have made great riches at court, for the sum he offered to pay was 
4 ten thousand talents of silver,” making about twenty millions of 
dollars of our money ! It is, however, probable that he reckoned 
on having a large portion of the spoil of the Jews, notwithstand- 
ing that all the murderers were allowed to share it among them, 
according to the decree which the king now issued. Haman was 
so great a favourite with the king that he absolutely refused to 
take his money, and he granted all he desired to the fullest extent. 

So on the thirteenth day of the first month, Haman called 



726 



child’s commentator. 

together all the king’s scribes, or secretaries, and ordered them t<i 
write letters to the officers and governors of all the provinces, in 
the characters and languages of their different nations, and these 
letters were signed and sealed with the king’s ring. As soon as they 
were ready, they were sent by posts, or running-men, into all parts 
where the Jews were. The decree which they contained, was 
of the most cruel kind. It gave orders that on one particular day 
— the thirteenth day of the twelfth month — they were “ to destroy, 
to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little 
children and women,” “ and to take the spoil of them for a prey.” 
Heralds, or royal criers, were also appointed to proclaim the 
decree, that every body might be ready to execute it, and share 
in the booty. 

After these things were done, the king and Haman feasted 
together; the royal city was, however, only a scene of distress; for 
the Jews were numerous there, and their grief affected their 
friends and neighbours, who were more humane than Haman, and 
trembled at the thought of shedding so much innocent blood. 


THE FOURTH, FIFTH, SIXTH, AND SEVENTH CHAPTERS OF ESTHER. 

Hainan's fall and Execution. 

“ So they nanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for 
Mordecai.” — Chap. vii. 10. 


Mordecai soon heard of the decree that was made against his 
people, and he rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth and ashes, 
as signs of grief, and went out into the city and cried aloud. The 
Jews in all the provinces showed the same grief; they fasted, 
wept, wailed, and many even made sackcloth and ashes their 
beds. 

That Esther might know what was going on, Mordecai placed 
himself at last before the king’s gate ; for he durst not go within 
the walls of the court in sackcloth and ashes. Here his habit and 



MORDECAI IN THE KING’S GATE. 




SAILING UNDER CYPRUS. ANCIENT SHIPS. 




CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


729 


wailing attracted the notice of some of the court, and came to 
the knowledge of Esther’s maids, who told her of this sin- 
gular appearance of Mordecai. The queen immediately sent 
him some fresh clothing to appear at court, when she might 
know more of the cause of his grief. Mordecai, however, 
refused the clothing. Esther then sent for Hatach, one of 
the king’s chamberlains, who waited upon her, and desired 
him to go to Mordecai and find out what was the matter. 
Mordecai told him all the particulars about Haman, and sent a 
copy of the decree to the queen, and charged her to lose no time 
in seeing the king, and asking for the preservation of their people, 
the Jews. 

Now, there was a law in Persia, which made it death for any 
person to go in to the king without being sent for; this was to 
keep up his dignity, and to prevent any person from taking away 
his life. Esther, therefore, although queen of Persia, must run 
a great risk to venture into the king’s presence, without being 
sent for ; and being now but coolly treated by the king, the hazard 
of incurring his displeasure was great. Esther, therefore, sent a 
message to Mordecai, that she had not been called in to the king 
for thirty days, and that she was afraid to venture as a petitioner 
before him. 

Mordecai sent word in reply, that if her life was in danger by 
going in to the king uncalled for, it was more in danger by her 
not going. Eor the decree was made to destroy the J ewish nation, 
and as Haman perhaps would begin at the palace, even her life 
would not be spared, though she was queen. He also hoped that 
she was raised to the crown by Providence for the very purpose of 
saving her nation ; but if she neglected to use her influence with 
the king, he felt persuaded that God would yet save the people, 
though she and her family, as a punishment for her indifference, 
might probably perish. 

Esther then desired that Mordecai should gather together all 
the Jews that were in Shushan, and they should fast and pray for 
her three days and nights, while she and her maidens would fast 
also, and then she would venture before the king, though he might 
not send for her ; and, said she, “ If I perish, I perish ; God’s 


730 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


will be done/’ “ So Mordecai went his way, and did according 
to all that Esther had commanded him.” 


On the third day of the fast, when it was finished, Esther threw 
off her mourning dress and put on her royal robes, and she went 
and stood in the inner court of the king’s house, where none were 
admitted uncalled for, on pain of death. The king was seated on 
his royal throne ; and when he saw her, her modesty and beauty 
touched his heart ; and he held out his golden sceptre, which was 
the sign that she might approach him, instead of being put to 
death, for venturing into his presence. Esther touched the top of 
the sceptre, as a token of her obedience. The king then said very 
kindly to her, “ What wilt thou, queen Esther ? and what is thy 
request? it shall be given thee, to the half of the kingdom.” Not 
that he would have given her half his kingdom, but he meant, 
‘Any thing that you want, I am sure I will most readily do for 
you : so do not be afraid to ask.’ 

She then asked the king to come and partake of a banquet with 
her, and likewise to let Haman share the feast. She thought that 
would be the best way to lay her grievances before the king, and 
that she could then accuse Haman to his face, when he c-ould have 
no time to prepare words for defence. 

“ So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had 
prepared.” And while he was drinking wine, he remembered his 
promise to the queen, and desired her to let him know what she 
wished him to do. 

Esther was perhaps yet timid, or was trying to win upon the 
king sufficiently to allow her to attack his favourite Haman with 
success. She therefore still put off making her request, but 
begged the king to favour her once more with his presence, and 
she would on the next day prepare another banquet for him and 
Haman. 

Haman went away quite delighted with his honours ; but his 
proud heart was yet unhappy, because, as he passed the king’s 
gate, Mordecai would not do him reverence. However he said 
nothing to him, but treasured up his malice for a better opportu- 
nity. As soon as he got home he was full of joy at his good 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


731 


fortune at court, and he sent to invite his particular friends, and 
his wife and all his children, to tell them of his great prosperity. 
“ And Haman told them of the glory of his riches, and the multi- 
tude of his children, and all the things wherein the king had pro- 
moted him, and how he had advanced him above the princes and 
servants of the king. Haman said, moreover, Yea, Esther the 
queen did let no man come in with the king unto the banquet 
which she had prepared but myself ; and to-morrow am I invited 
unto her also with the king.” But still, said he, “all this 
availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai, the Jew, sitting 
at the king’s gate ;” how great soever my joy, in all my honours, 
I have a mortification that spoils all, and whenever I think of it, 
I cannot endure it; there is that Jew, Mordecai, who will not 
pay me homage as others do ; I shall not be fully happy, till he 
is put out of Idle way. 

Now, you know, Haman might easily have put him out of the 
way, for he had got the king’s decree passed against him and his 
people; but by waiting for his supposed lucky day, he lost his pre- 
sent opportunity, and so Mordecai remained to humble his pride. 

“ Oh,” said Zeresh his wife, and all his friends, “ there is a very 
short way of finishing the matter with that Jew ; get a very high 
gallows made, and then ask the king’s leave to-morrow, to hang 
Mordecai at once; and when that is done, you can go to the 
banquet free from all vexation.” Haman liked the notion, and 
got the gallows made to hang Mordecai. 

On the night before the banquet, the king was very restless, and, 
being unable to sleep, he ordered the Chronicles, or notes of what 
happened in the kingdom, to be brought and read to him for his 
amusement. In those Chronicles, you remember, were entered 
the names of the conspirators against the king, whom Mordecai 
had discovered, and the account of Mordecai’s fidelity, and of their 
treachery and execution. It happened that the courtiers fell in 
with this passage, and read it. The king then asked, if any 
reward had ever been bestowed upon Mordecai for his noble con- 
duct in saving his life. The lords of his bed-chamber replied, 
that nothing had been done for him to raise him above his usual 
place. 





The king was resolved that such conduct should no longer pass 
unrewarded, and asked his lords if any of his attendants were in 
the outward court, waiting to be called in. On going to see, they 
found Haman there, who had come as soon as he could, with a 
secret intention to obtain the king’s leave to hang Mordecai. So 
the king desired him to enter. As soon as he had entered, the 
king said to him, “ What shall be done unto the man whom the 
king delighteth to honour ? Now Haman thought in his heart, to 
whom would the king delight to do honour, more than to myself ?” 
he being the king’s greatest favourite. So, he very readily sug- 
gested honours, which he thought he should enjoy. And he said, 
“ Let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, 
and the horse that the king rideth upon, and the crown royal 
which is set upon his head. And let this apparel and horse be 
delivered to the hands of one of the king’s most noble princes, that 
they may array the man withal whom the king delighteth to 
honour, and bring him on horseback through the street of the 
city, and proclaim before him, Thus shall it be done unto the man 
whom the king delighteth to honour.” The whole of this request 
amounts to this. Haman proposed that the man should wear the 
king’s purple robe, which was a daring proposal, for it was a 
capital crime with the Persians to wear any of the king’s apparel ; 
but supposing that the honours would be his, and, that being so 
great a favourite he might make free with the king, his ambition 
led him to this bold suggestion. It was equally forbidden that 
any man should ride the king’s horse, much less wear his crown; 
and it is thought, therefore, that he intended the horse should 
only be led and not ridden, and that the crown should be put not 
on the head of the man but of the horse, which was a custom in 
Persia in some state processions. The honour would be great to 
wear the king’s robe, and be attended by his horse bearing his 
crown. The ambition of Haman would give us reason to believe 
that he would as readily have asked to ride the king’s horse and 
to wear his crown, as to put on his royal robe ; but as the Persian 
customs admit of a different explanation, I have named it ; and it 
is not improbable that Haman meant, that the king’s horse, wear- 
ing the crown on his head, should be led before the man whom the 



CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 733 

king delighted to honour, and that the honoured man should ride 
upon another horse, led by a prince. 

The king liked the proposal of Haman, and told him directly to 
do as he had proposed — to whom 1 Why to Mordecai, the J ew ; 
to the very man whom he had come to court to get hanged ! 

Here pause a moment, young reader. Do you think that all 
this was chance ? No ; God ordered it all for the good of his fa- 
voured people, the Jews. If Mordecai had not discovered the con- 
spirators against the king — If the king’s rest had not been dis- 
turbed — if he had not taken it into his head to have the Chroni- 
cles read to him, w T here Mordecai’s good conduct was recorded — 
if Mordecai had been rewarded before — this remarkable honour 
would not have been bestowed upon Mordecai at all. So that it 
depended upon a chain of events all ordered by God’s providence. 
And then, mark ! the honour was granted him just at the moment 
when he was in the most danger, and when his life was about to 
be demanded by Haman, to whom the king would no doubt 
have granted it, having forgotten all about Mordecai’s having 
saved his life from traitors. And what was yet more ex- 
traordinary, the man who was about to destroy him, was the 
man who was made to load him with honours ! So Mordecai 
lost nothing by faithfully serving God ; neither will you lose at 
last by serving him. “Verily, there is a reward for the right- 
eous.” 

Haman, having obeyed the king’s command, and honoured the 
man who would not worship him, went home bitterly mortified, 
being disappointed in his vengeance, and thinking himself de- 
graded while Mordecai was exalted. Instead of repeating the 
story of his greatness, he now told his wife and friends of his 
misfortune, and they could not console him. They had probably 
heard how God had often done wonders in behalf of the Jews, 
and knowing Haman’s rage against them, and his intentions to- 
wards them, they now saw that, already, ill success attended 
him ; and they said, “ If Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews, be- 
fore whom thou hast begun to fall, thou shalt not prevail against 
him, but shalt surely fall before him.” 

While they were talking, the king’s chamberlains came to attend 



734 child’s commentator. 

Haman to the banquet, and, with a heavy heart, he hastened to 
join the king and queen. 


While they were feasting, the king again asked Esther — which 
was the third time he had put the question— “ What is thy peti- 
tion, queen Esther, and it shall be granted thee ? and what is thy 
request, and it shall be performed, even to the half of the king- 
dom V * The queen then told him that she had asked for her 
life, and for the lives of all her nation under the king’s dominion, 
for they were all devoted to destruction. She intimated that if 
they had been doomed to be slaves, they might quietly have 
submitted ; but even then the king would have been greatly in- 
jured in his revenues by losing the benefit of the skill and indus- 
try of a nation, labouring for its own welfare. 

The king was startled at the news, and asked in a rage, “ Who 
is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so 1” 
Now came the fearful moment for Haman : “ And Esther said, 
The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman.” 

Haman was so terrified that he could not speak. The king, in 
the meanwhile, arose from his seat, and went out in haste to 
walk about the palace garden, for he would not sit where Haman 
was ; and if he thought of the decree he had issued against the 
Jews, in which Esther was involved, he was perhaps the more 
angry that Haman should coolly have drawn him into such a 
plot. As soon as the king was gone, Haman stood up before the 
queen, and humbly begged for his life, for he saw by the king’s 
countenance that he determined to punish him. The king soon re- 
turned, and Haman, scarcely knowing what he did, had then 
thrown himself down upon the knees of the queen, to implore her 
mercy. An Eastern prince can scarcely endure that any one 
should even look at his princess, much less touch her, which is 
considered a great liberty indeed ; and when the king saw Haman 
before the queen, he never stopped in his rage to hear his petition, 
but instantly gave signs for his execution. The attendants obey- 
ed his commands, covered his face, which is a sign that the per- 
son is condemned, and hurried him away. One of the king’s 
chamberlains then asked him how Haman should die] And he 




child’s commentator. 


735 


told him of the high gallows which he had prepared to hang the 
honoured and faithful Mordecai. “ Then the king said, Hang him 
thereon.” In most Eastern countries, the king’s command is the 
law, and the life and death of his subjects depend entirely on his 
pleasure ; his word was enough, and Haman was executed. 


THE EIGHTH, NINTH, AND TENTH CHAPTERS OF ESTHER. 

MordecaVs Advancement — Decree in favour of the Jews — The Jews' 
Victory over their Enemies — The Establishment of the Feast of 
Purim. 

“’The Jews had light and gladness, and joy, and honour.” — 
Chap. viii. 16. 

The same day on which Haman was executed, tne king took all 
his property and gave it to Esther. He also gave Mordecai the 
| ring which he had given to Haman, and which he used to wear as 

i a proof of the king’s favour. And Esther made Mordecai her 

steward, to manage the riches of Haman, which now became hers. 

Though Haman was dead, the dreadful decree had yet gone out 
against the J ews to destroy them, and the laws of the Persians 
would not allow of its being revoked. Esther, however, ventured 
again into the presence of the king, fell down before him, and 
entreated him, even with tears, to prevent the mischief which 
Haman had “ devised against the Jews.” So the king ordered 
Mordecai to write another decree, after the manner in which 
Haman’s was written, and to send it into the hundred and twen- 
ty-seven provinces over which he ruled. In this decree he gave 
the Jews leave to arm themselves, and if any attacked them, by 
the permission of the former decree, they were to gather toge- 
ther in bodies, and stand for their lives, and the property of all 
.hose whom they defeated was to become theirs. 

Mordecai made no delay, but sent off copies of the new decree, 
sealed with the king’s ring ; and posts on horseback, mules, cam- 
els, and young dromedaries, were despatched with them in every 
direction. 



736 


CHILD'S COMMENTATOR. 


Mordecai was now promoted to great honour as the king’s 
favourite. “ And Mordecai went out from the presence of the 
king in royal apparel of blue and white, and with a great crown 
of gold, and with a garment of fine linen and purple ; and the city 
of Shushan rejoiced and was glad.” Haman was, no doubt, a very 
austere man, not only to the Jews, but to others; and most likely 
got much of his wealth by his severity. All the people of Shu- 
shan were therefore glad, to see his place occupied by so good a 
man as Mordecai ; and “ the Jews had light and gladness,” that 
is, prosperity, “ and joy, and honour.” And in all places where 
the decree was sent, the Jews kept a feast ; “and many of the 
people of the land became Jews ; for the fear of the Jews fell upon 
them.” They were made proselytes ; that is, they, not being born 
Jews, submitted to all the rites of Jews, and united in their wor- 
ship of the true God. Some might do this out of interest, hoping 
to gain the favours of the court, and of those who were its offi- 
cers, as Esther and Mordecai were in such high favour with the 
king. Some might become Jews to save their lives, fearing that 
they might perish by their vengeance, when the new decree was 
acted upon. But we may hope and believe, that not a few were 
struck with the clear proof of God’s protecting providence over 
the nation ; and so they desired to cast in their lot among them, 
and to have the Jews’ God for their God. 


As the day approached for the decree of Haman to be exe- 
cuted, the Jews, aware that they had many enemies, “ gathered 
themselves together in their cities, throughout all the provinces 
of the king Ahasuerus, to lay hand on such as sought their hurt.” 
And instead of hurting them, “ all the rulers of the provinces, 
and the lieutenants, and the deputies, and officers of the king, 
helped the Jews; because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them.” 
Mordecai being now chief minister of the king, they did not know 
how he might punish them, if they acted on Haman’s decree, and 
the fame of the new minister was spread every where, and he in- 
creased daily in power. 

Some of the Jews’ enemies, however, would not let them alone, 
and the J ews slew them. In the city of Shushan, they destroyed 



737 



child’s commentator. 






five hundred men, who were probably of Haman’s party, and 
tried to avenge the death of that bad man. Among these were 
the ten sons of Haman. They did, not, however, take their pro- 
perty, though the king’s decree allowed it ; and thus they show- 
ed that they were not moved by malice to kill their enemies, but 
only acted in defence of their own lives. 

When the king learned that the Jews had killed five hundred 
in the city, he wished to know how many more of their enemies 
had fallen. And he asked the queen if she was now satisfied, or 
desired any thing more ? She then asked that Haman’s ten sons 
might be hanged upon the gallows on which their father was 
hung. It was usual among the Persians to hang criminals even 
after they were dead ; that their bodies might be disgraced. This 
request of Esther’s was not out of malice, but justice, to make an 
example of the wicked enemies of her country. Haman’s sons 
had most likely been his counsellors in his wickedness, and had 
helped to forward his plans, and they had now shown their mal- 
ice in fighting against the Jews. By hanging them, as the last 
remainder of Haman’s house, they would be a warning to others 
to take care in future, how they tried to injure the people of God. 
The king granted this request to Esther, and the bodies of Ham- 
an’s sons were hanged. 

The next day, the Jews had another battle at Shushan, and 
slew three hundred more of their enemies. Those in the pro- 
vinces slew “seventy and five thousand,” but none of them took 
any of the property of those they slew. 

Thus, having come off victorious, the Jews “ had rest from their 
enemies.” And some of them made the fourteenth, and some 
the fifteenth day of the month Adar, “ a day of feasting and glad- 
ness;” and they sent portions of the feast to each other, and es- 
pecially to the poor, that they might share in all their enjoy- 
ments. So that the very day when their enemies thought to de- 
stroy them, they themselves were destroyed ; and the J ews, in- 
stead of mourning and desolation, were the subjects of great joy. 

Mordecai wished never to forget the goodness of God in pre- 
serving him and his people from such extreme danger ; he there- 
fore, sent letters to all the Jews, desiring them to keep the four 



738 


child’s commentator. 


teenth and fifteenth days of the month Adar, in every year, in 
order to preserve in their memories the great goodness of God 
in saving them from the cruelty of Haman. We should never 
forget remarkable instances of God’s goodness to us ; and if we 
do not celebrate them with feasting, we should always remember 
the day in which they occurred with thanksgiving. 

The Jews readily agreed to keep the proposed days ; and, as 
Haman had fixed upon the period by pur, that is, lot, “ they 
called these days Purim, after the name of Pur.” And they or- 
dained that not only themselves, but their families, in every fu- 
ture generation, should keep this festival to commemorate the 
remarkable providence of God, in saving them from the hands of 
the wicked Haman. Esther and Mordecai also wrote letters to 
confirm this decree. 

Nothing more is said of Mordecai, because this book was 
written only to show the care of God over his peculiar people. 
But there were many other interesting things about his great- 
ness, as well as about the deeds of Ahasuerus, which were “ writ- 
ten in the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia,” but 
which are now lost. How many old histories have perished, as 
the world itself must perish ! The memorials of great empires 
are gone for ever ; but the Bible remains, the oldest, the best, 
and the most interesting of books, giving a history of God’s peo- 
ple, even from the beginning of time ; and shall be an imperisha- 
ble memorial of his spiritual dominion over the hearts of men 
till all the subjects of his grace shall reign with him in glory. 


(VIORDECAI RIDING THROUGH THE CITY. 










JOB AND HIS THREE FRIENDS. 



p » * 


7. •»".“*/// " 


*;> ’//* '///» //«,/>; 
















THE BOOK OP JOB, 


OB, 


THE HISTORY OF A GOOD MAN IN THE EAST, WHO WAS 
MUCH AFFLICTED. 


THE FIRST TO THE FORTY-SECOND CHAPTER INCLUSIVE BEING THE 
WHOLE OF THAT BOOK. 

“ So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his begin- 
ning ; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand 
camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she- 
asses. 

“He had also seven sons, and three daughters.” — Chap. xlii. 

12 , 13 . 


The book which we have now to notice is called Job. It con- 
tains a short history of a good man of that name. He lived in the 
land of Uz, supposed to have been part of an Eastern country 
called Arabia. The time when he lived is not exactly known, 
but, from some circumstances, it is supposed that he was distant- 
ly related to Abraham, and a descendant of Nahor, his brother. 
As he lived to a good old age, it is thought that he was alive 
when the Israelites were oppressed in Egypt, and that he main 




§ 


742 child’s commentator. 

tained the pure worship of God in his country, when idolatry was 
every where else overspreading the world. 

No one knows who wrote this book ; some thinking that it was 
Ezra, some that it was Isaiah, some that it was Solomon, some 
that it was Moses, some that it was Elihu, and some that it was 
Job himself. 

Some have also supposed that it is a parable, intended to set 
forth the afflictions to which a good man may be liable — the care 
of God over him — and the final deliverance which he shall at 
some time enjoy. Most who have written about him, however, 
agree in thinking that his history is no parable, but a history of a 
real person, because he is mentioned as such in Ezekiel and 
James. It contains, indeed, some singular things ; but so do all 
histories written in the earliest periods of the world, as it was 
usual to write most of them in poetry, in which fanciful thoughts 
are sometimes mixed with plain facts. I shall pass by the poetry, 
and attend to the facts only ; and when we come to the Book of 
Psalms, I shall tell you something about Hebrew poetry, as not 
only Job, but the Psalms, and the prophets, are all written in 
poetry. Rhyme is not necessary to make poetry, for we have in 
English what is called blank verse, and in this the finest poetry 
in the world has always been written. In our English transla- 
tions from the Hebrew Bible, we have not put the verses into the 
form of poetry, but the fine thoughts which they contain are still 
preserved for our instruction and delight. 

The book begins with giving us Job’s character ; it is such as 
makes us at once interested in all that happens to him, for he 
“ was perfect and upright, and one that feared God and eschewed 
evil.” — Not that he had no sin, but his conduct was as sincere as 
that of a man could be, and he did every thing with the best in- 
tent ; while those around him were idolaters, he served God ; and 
while they lived in sinful practices, he eschewed or avoided evil. 

This good man had seven sons and three daughters, and no 
doubt felt happy in seeing his dear children around him. He was 
also very rich, in what made the riches of those days, especially 
in his country : “ His substance also was seven thousand sheep, 
and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and 



CHILD'S COMMENTATOR. 743 

five hundred she-asses, and a very great household; so that this 
man was the greatest of all the men of the East.” 

His children were very happy among themselves, and seemed to 
have loved each other, as good brothers and sisters ought, with a 
sincere affection. At particular times of the year they had feasts, 
as we now have at Thanksgiving; and then theyall met together, 
as many families do at least once a year with us, and the sisters 
were invited to meet with the brothers. Probably the brothers 
had these feasts in succession at their houses. And when they 
were over, good Job, who loved their souls as well as their bo- 
dies, lost no time in offering up “ burnt-offerings, according to the 
number of them all ; for Job said, it may be that my sons have 
sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continu- 
ally.” As at all times men are in danger of sin, so are they more 
so when they are partaking of the good things which providence 
has given them to eat and drink ; and therefore, lest any of them 
should have used any wrong words, or said any thing that was not 
as reverent as it ought to have been respecting God, Job offered 
up these sacrifices for them, that God might pardon them. So 
do kind parents now pray for their dear children, and entreat God 
that they may not fall into temptation, and that he would pardon 
all their sins, for the sake of Jesus Christ, that great sacrifice that 
was offered up once for all. 

From the circumstance of Job offering up the sacrifice, it is 
supposed, with good reason, that he lived before the time of 
Moses, for, only in the days of the patriarchs, did good men act 
as the priests of their families ; after that time, God appointed 
priests “both to offer up gifts and sacrifices for sins.” These 
sacrifices were types or representations of the sacrifice of Jesus 
Christ, and were no doubt offered up in faith, believing that, “ in 
the fulness of time,” the sacrifice which they represented would 
be offered up in the death of Christ ; and that that sacrifice would 
make these of benefit, as they led the soul to rest alone upon it. 
These sacrifices were a confession of sin, and of the need of its 
being done away, in order that those who offered them might ob. 
tain pardon. 

As at this tfme there were good men about Job, who agreed to 

* 28 




call upon the name of the Lord, these “ sons of God came to pre- 
sent themselves before the Lord.” Satan, too, got into their 
assemblies, and suggested bad thoughts to their minds. Satan, 
however, does not merely mean the name of the bad spirit, but 
also signifies an accuser ; and any evil people who found fault with 
the perfect Job, and said ill things of him, as they do now of those 
who fear God, and accused him of serving God for some selfish 
purposes, might well bear the name of Satan. Many, however, 
think that the evil spirit is here intended throughout, and, although 
we cannot tell how God and Satan could hold conversation, yet, 
that it actually took place, between the good and evil spirits. It 
is enough for us, however, to know that Job was accused in that 
question, “ Doth Job fear God for nought'?” — meaning, is ho not 
a gainer by it? Does he not prosper ? He may then well serve his 
God ! “ Hast thou not made a hedge about him ?” that is, pro- 

tected him — “ and about his house, and about all that he hath on 
every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his 
substance is increased in the land.” But only let his circum- 
stances be changed, and see if he will serve God then. No, to be 
sure. “But, put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he 
hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.” So said the accuser. 

In order to show that the religion of Job was genuine, and that 
he could serve God in a low estate as well as when surrounded by 
wealth, God allowed afflictions to come fast upon him. “ And 
there was a day when his sons and his daughters were feasting and 
drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house.” And just in this 
happy moment, when Job must have been delighting himself in 
the happiness of his children, there came a messenger unto Job, 
and said, “ The oxen were ploughing, and the asses feeding beside 
them, and theSabeans fell upon them, and took them away ; yea, 
they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword ; and I 
only am escaped alone to tell thee.” Here, in one moment, his 
“ five hundred yoke of oxen,” and his “five hundred asses,” which 
formed a valuable part of Job’s substance, were all taken away. 
This sort of plundering was practised by these Sabeans, and in 
the East there are no greater plunderers to this day than the wild 
Arabs, who live in the parts near which Job resided. To add to 


child’s commentator. 


745 

Job’s misfortunes, his servants also were slain, who, according to 
the customs of those times, became such by being bom in his 
house, or bought with his money, and were therefore a part of his 
property. 

This messenger had not done telling his sad story before an- 
other arrived ; and he said, “ The fire of God is fallen from hea- 
ven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and con- 
sumed them ; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.” Thus 
were his “ seven thousand sheep” at once destroyed by lightning, 
and he had neither food nor wool for clothing. 

Before this messenger had done speaking, another yet came 
from another part of Job’s estates, where his camels were kept, 
and he said, “ The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon 
the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the ser- 
vants with the edge of the sw r ord ; and I only am escaped alone 
to tell thee.” Thus Job lost all that he had, for now his “ three 
thousand camels” were gone, being stolen by a people, who, as 
ancient history tells us, lived by plundering others. 

Still the good man might have comforted himself that he was 
not left alone in his deep afflictions. He had his seven sons and 
his three daughters spared to him, and, though his property was 
valuable, they were dearer to him than all, and children so affec- 
tionate towards each other would still comfort and support their 
venerable and beloved parent. But, while the last messenger 
was yet speaking, “ there came also another, and said, Thy sons 
and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest 
brother’s house. And, behold, there came a great wind from the 
wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell 
upon the young men, and they are dead ; and I only ain escaped 
alone to tell thee.” There are very strong winds in Arabia, and 
God now suffered these to blow upon the house in which Job’s 
sons were, so that all these calamities reduced him from riches to 
poverty, and from great happiness to deep sorrow, in one day ! — ■ 
O what a sad day ! Some men, who had no God to whom they 
could go for relief, would have gone mad, and some would have 
raged furiously against God for suffering all this evil to come 
upon them. But “ Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


746 

head,” in token of his being in great distress ; “ and fell down 
upon the ground and worshipped,” to express the humility of his 
mind and his dependence still upon God ; so that he did not curse 
him to his face, as the adversary said he would, if God severely 
afflicted him. And he said, “ Naked came I out of my mother’s 
womb,” or mother earth, “and naked shall I return thither: the 
Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away ; blessed be the name 
of the Lord.” As if he had said, “ All I had came from God, he 
gave it me ; and he has thought proper to take it away. What- 
ever he does is all right, though it be ever so painful to me ; so 
I will not murmur, but still bless his holy name !” 

How beautiful does the piety of J ob here appear. “ In all this 
Job sinned not,” that is, he uttered no wrong expression about 
what God had suffered to be done to him, “ nor charged God 
foolishly.” 

The adversary was still inclined to accuse Job, and though he 
had shown so much piety under his losses, still his tongue was 
employed in accusing him of not being sincere before God. I 
think it very likely that though Satan is mentioned as doing this, 
yet it may mean that wicked people, set on by the workings of 
his evil spirit on their spirits, might be his accusers, and so Satan 
might accuse Job through them. However, the adversary now 
said, that if Job’s life was in danger from a painful disease, he 
would then no longer love God, and so his religion would be at an 
end. Well, God then suffered sore boils to smite Job, and to cover 
him all over from head to foot. And he was so bad that he took 
a piece of a broken pot to scrape himself, and he sat down in a heap 
of ashes. To add to his misery yet further, his wife provokingly 
asked him if he would now be religious any longer, as he had 
proof enough that his religion did not save him from trouble ; she 
then told him to curse God rather than bless him, and then die in 
despair. This wicked woman, however, failed in shaking the piety 
of J ob. For he said unto her, “ Thou speakest as one of the foolish 
women speaketh. What ! shall we receive good at the hand of 
God, and shall we not receive evil !” Meaning, that he had had 
many good things which God sent him, and, if God had thought 


child’s commentator. 


747 


it right, he would have continued those good things, for he knew 
what was fittest for him. And now, if God sent him trouble, he 
was sure that it was for wise ends, and therefore he would not 
murmur. “ In all this did not Job sin with his lips.” 

In the midst of his trouble three of Job’s particular friends, 
having heard of what had happened to him, came from their dis- 
tant places of abode to visit him. They are called Eliphaz the 
Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. 
When they approached his house they saw him in his sad condi- 
tion, but he was so altered, that in any other place they would not 
have known him. At this sight they were much affected, and 
even wept. Then, as a sign of their grief, they “ rent every one 
his mantle,” or cloak ; and they took up handfuls of dust from the 
ground and throwing them into the air, let them fall in showers on 
their heads. Then “ they sat down with him upon the ground seven 
days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him, for they 
saw that his grief was very great.” Not indeed, but that they 
took some food and rest during this time, or they could not have 
lived ; but they spent most of the nights, as well as days, in show- 
ing their sorrow. It was customary to mourn seven days on any 
occasion of great grief; Joseph “made a mourning for his father 
seven days ;” and the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead, after they had 
buried the bodies of Saul and his sons, who had been slain by the 
Philistines, in the same manner, fasted seven days. 

Job at last broke the silence, and opened his mouth with cursing 
the day in which he was born. He did not indeed curse and 
swear — he was too good a man to do so — but he gave way to 
strong expressions of complaint, which is what is meant here by 
cursing. For we have his words put down, “ Let the day perish 
wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a 
man-child conceived. Let that day be darkness ; let not God re- 
gard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it.” He thought 
that his birth-day, instead of being a day of rejoicing, ought ra- 
ther to have everything bad said about it, or rather to be for ever 
forgotten, for it had only brought him into a world of the great- 
est sorrow. Here, however, though Job showed impatience, 
which was wrong, he said nothing against God or religion, and 





748 child’s commentator. 


showed that he was not inclined to depart from the fear of God. 
because he had afflicted him. 

His friends then spoke to him one after another. But instead 
of giving him any comfort, they only irritated his mind. Though 
they were good men, they foolishly supposed that Job never could 
have been so afflicted, if he had not done something that was very 
wicked. They therefore told him that he must have been guilty 
of being a hypocrite, and that all his religion was in mere show, 
and not in his heart. They also accused him, as he was a great 
man, of being what great men in power too often are — especially 
in the East — a great oppressor, and a covetous man. Job could 
not bear this, for he knew it was not true, and he was hurt at his 
friends adding to his sorrows, by thinking so badly of him. This 
made him speak of himself in the high and good terms in which 
he sometimes did in the course of their conversation ; not that he 
w*as vain of his goodness or good deeds, and loved to talk about 
them, but he was obliged to do so in his own defence. Yet he 
owned, as every good man will, that he was truly a sinner before j 
God, and this no doubt helped to reconcile him to God’s allowing 
him thus to be afflicted ; but he still held fast his religion, and he 
said of God, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.” He ( 

also comforted himself in the hope, that when this vain life f 

should be over, he should see his Redeemer in a happier and a 
better world. 

At length Job’s friends, thinking it was of no use to talk to him 
any longer — as they could not make him admit that his sufferings 
were on account of his not being sincere before God, as they sup- 
posed, — the conversation was dropped. “So these three men 
ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.” 

A young man of the name of Elihu, having heard the debate 
between Job and his friends, was very vexed at them all. He 
thought that Job had been wrong in trying so much to vindicate 
himself from the charge of having deserved his sufferings in a 
particular manner, while he had said little or nothing to vindicate 
the character and honour of God, though he had afflicted him. 

He was also very angry with Job’s three friends, “ because they 
had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job;” they were 




child’s commentator. 


749 


unable to disprove what he had said about his own uprightness, 


and yet they had set him down as a hypocrite, because God had 
greatly afflicted him. 

The young should always give place to the old, because the old 
ought first to be heard, and are expected, from having more years, 
to have also more wisdom. Elihu therefore “had waited till Job 
had spoken, because they were elder than he,” — that is, Job and 
his friends— and when Job had finally given over replying, and 
his friends speaking, Elihu made an apology for opening his 
mouth, and then said, “ Hearken to me ; I also will give mine 
opinion.” Then he began to blame Job for saying so much about 
his own goodness, and complaining of his sufferings from the hand 
of God, though, indeed, he had not murmured against him in a 
spirit of rebellion. After remarking on many wrong expressions 
which Job had uttered, he, at length, closed all by vindicating 




the conduct of God in all his dealings in Providence with sinful 


men, and showing how impossible it is for us, his humble crea- 
tures, to search his ways even in common things. He pointed 
out the wonders of the thunder and lightning ; the snow and the 
rain ; the wind and the clouds ; and then assured his hearers, that 
such a great God would not afflict without a just cause. 

Elihu having done speaking, God, in some wonderful way, at 
length himself spoke, with a strong voice which proceeded out of a 
whirlwind that sprung up at the time. By this voice he reminded 
Job of his divine power and glory in all the w'orks of creation, and 
called upon him to humble himself before him as the Judge of all 
the earth. Then Job cried out, “Behold, I am vile!” And after 
the voice from God had spoken once more, Job owned his folly 
and ignorance, confessed his sins, and repented before God ; for, 
though he was a good* man. the best of men have many reasons 
to humble themselves daily before the most holy God, and to say 
in his most pure presence, as Job did, that they “ repent in dust 
and ashes” — the most humbling sign of grief and misery. 

Then, as Job's friends had wrongly accused him, and judged 
harshly of him, God spoke to “ Eliphaz the Temanite,” and told 
him that he was displeased with him and his two friends, for what 
they had said about Job. And he desired them to go with Job, 



750 


child’s commentator. 


who should offer up a sacrifice which he would accept, in order 
to take away his displeasure. Thus, after all his sufferings, God 
honoured Job before his friends. In reading of this sacrifice of- 
fered by Job for his friends, we are also reminded that as we 
have sinned against God, and do often offend him, we must go to 
Jesus Christ our great advocate, as Job’s friends did to him ; and 
we must look to his sacrifice as the never-failing way of obtaining 
acceptance with God. 

So when Job and his friends had done as God commanded, God 
accepted of them all, and received them into his favour. 

And now Job became rich again in this world’s wealth, for 
“ the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.” “ Then came 
there unto him, all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they 
that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with 
him in his house, and they bemoaned him, and comforted him 
over all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him ; every man 
also gave him a piece of money, and every one an earring of gold. 
So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his begin- 
ning ; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand cam- 
els, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-asses. He 
had also seven sons and three daughters. And he called the name 
of the first Jemima ; and the name of the second, Kezia ; and the 
name of the third, Keren-happuch. And in all the land were no 
women found so fair as the daughters of Job ; and their father 
gave them an inheritance among their brethren and so divided 
a portion of his property among them, as he did among his sons. 

“After this lived Job an hundred and forty years, and saw his 
sons, and his sons’ sons, even four generations so that he is sup- 
posed to have lived about two hundred years. His great age is 
one reason which guides us to the time in whieh he lived, as, after 
the days of Moses, we read of none living to so lengthened a period. 

“So Job died, being old and full of days.” 

Before we finish with the history of Job, some few words must 
be explained which you will meet with in the latter chapters, 
in which God speaks from the whirlwind. 

In the thirty-eighth chapter and thirty-first verse, you will find 


child’s commentator. 


751 


this question ; “ Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades 
or loose the bands of Orion ?” By Pleiades is meant the seven 
stars which sometimes appear close together in one part of the 
sky ; and the question perhaps meant, Canst thou cluster together 
such a group of stars as that, Job 1 Orion is a large group of stars, 
amounting to two thousand that may be seen : and more not clear- 
ly seen : and who can separate or alter them 1 In the next verse 
we also read, “ Canst thou bring forth Mazaroth in his season ? or 
canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons ?” By Mazaroth it is 
thought the South Pole, or the South part of the heavens or sky, 
is meant, with its stars. Arcturus is a constellation, or number 
of stars, seen sometimes near the North Pole, or Northern part 
of the world, and by its sons are probably meant its stars. 

In the thirty -ninth chapter and ninth verse, there is another 
question that needs explaining : “ Will the Unicorn be willing to 
serve thee, or abide by thy crib ?” Here Job is taught God’s power 
by the beasts he has made. Unicorn means one-horned. Painters 
draw an animal on the Queen’s arms which is like a horse with 
one horn. This is all fancy ; there is no such animal. Since men 
have learned more of the history of the different parts of the world, 
it has been found out that there is a creature called the Rhino* 

ceros, which is very strong and 
fierce, and has one horn. Such a 
wild beast, though God made 
him with ease. Job could not 
even have dared to feed loose in 
his stable, or to make work in 
his fields. 

In the thirteenth verse, we 
read of the Ostrich. This is a 
bird that is now often shown in 
this country, and the pictures 
of which you must frequently 
have seen. It is often taller 
than a man with a large body, 
thick and long legs, and long 
neck. The feathers of its tail are very beautiful, and being 



752 child’s commentator. 

prepared, are among the most handsome ornaments worn bj 
ladies. 

In the fourteenth chapter and fifteenth verse, we read of the 
Behemoth, in which is described a huge and powerful creature, 
with bones as “ strong pieces of brass,” and “like bars of iron.” 
Many writers think that this means the Elephant, but it seems 
most nearly to describe a very powerful creature called the Hip- 
popotamus, or Sea-Horse. 

Lastly, in the forty-first chapter, there is a grand description 
of the power of a creature belonging to the water. It is called 
Leviathan, but whether it means the Whale or the Crocodile is 
not certain, both being very large and powerful creatures, to 
which many parts of the description will apply. Many writers 
are inclined to think that the Whale is intended. 


In finishing the history of Job, we learn that good men may be 
very much afflicted ; and, that instead of supposing God does not 
love them because he afflicts them, we ought to believe that he 
intends to do them good by it ; just as your kind parents intend 
to do you good, when they reprove you for doing what is wrong. 

We are also taught that it is God who can make us rich or 
poor, and so we ought to be contented with what he sends us. 
When he thought it right to make Job poor, how soon he lost his 
all ; and when he thought it right to make him rich again, how 
soon he recovered his wealth. God can do every thing ; let us 
trust in him, love and serve him, and then we are sure that he 
will do every thing that is best for us, and bring us at last to 
heaven, where “God shall wipe away all tears from off all 
faces that is, where, what trouble soever may happen to us 
here, we shall not have any cause to weep any more. 


PRATSE THE LORD, ALL CEDARS 










DAVID’S TOWER AT JERUSALEM. 





« 







child’s commentator, 755 


THE BOOK OF PSALMS ; 

OB, 

THE BOOK OF PRAISES AND HYMNS. 


TIIE FIRST TO THE ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH PSALM. 

Explanation of the Design of the Psalms — Their Poetical Expres- 
sions — Their laities — Their Authors — Their Harsh Petitions. 

“ O, come, let us sing unto the Lord ■ let us make a joyful noise 
unto the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his pre- 
sence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him 
with psalms.” — Psalm, xcv. 1, 2. 


The Book of Psalms means “ The Book of Praises,” because 
they were to be sung in the temple-worship, and because a great 
number of them are full of praise. Many of them are however 
prayers ; many are designed merely to teach important truths, 
as the providence or care of God, the necessity of holiness, and 
the like; many are prophetical, and sing about things which had 
not happened when they were written, and especially about Jesus 
Christ — the glory of his person — his life, sufferings, death, resur- 
rection, ascension, and kingdom — for David was a prophet as 
well as a king, and so God spake by him to his church, and en- 
couraged their hopes in the Messiah, or divinely anointed Sa- 
viour, who was to rule over his holy people Israel. 



child’s commentator. 


756 


As these psalms were to be sung, they were written in poetry, 
though they are translated into prose in our Bible, because it was 
not possible to translate them word for word in any other way. 
Our psalms in verse give the meanings of the Scripture Psalms, 
but not the exact words. 

The Psalms being written in poetry, for the purpose of singing, 
are full of poetical expressions, or words not commonly used in 
‘prose, or in the language in which we generally talk. This will 
account for many expressions which you, perhaps, do not easily 
understand ; because, in poetry, what are called figures of speech 
are used, or one word is employed to mean another — things seen 
to explain things not seen, and things of earth, to describe things 
of heaven. Now, you will begin to understand some expressions 
which otherwise would be quite unintelligible to you. Let us 
notice a few. 

First Psalm , Third Verse. — “ His leaf also shall not wither.” 
The psalmist is speaking of a godly man, and he compares him 
to a flourishing evergreen tree. Then to show how he prospers, 
he says the leaf of this tree shall never wither ; that is, this good 
man, who has just been compared to a never-fading tree, shall 
always have God’s blessing upon him, to make his soul flourish 


and grow in grace. 


Third Psalm, Third Verse. — “ But thou, O Lord, art a shield 
for me.” But how is God a* shield ? A shield is a round or 
oval large piece of wood or metal, which the ancient warrior car- 
ried before him, to guard his heart from the swords and arrows 
of the enemy. Thus the shield was the soldier’s protector . And 
that is what the psalmist means when he says God is a shield : 
he means that God is the good man’s protector. You will often 
find this word used in the Psalms respecting God, and you will 
now see what it always means when so used. 

Third Psalm , Seventh Verse. — “Thou hast smitten all mine 
enemies upon the cheek-bone ; thou hast broken the teeth of the 
ungodly.” The first of these expressions means contempt, and 
signifies that those who hated the holy David were despised by 
the holy God, as striking on the cheek, or boxing the ear, as we 
call it, has always been considered as a sign of displeasure. To 




CHILD’S COMMENTATOR. 757 

break the teeth signifies destroying the power to do harm ; for 
the furious creature deprived of teeth, how much soever he may 
rage, can never bite. Wicked men may rage against good men, 
but God can always restrain their power when he pleases. 

Fifth Psalm , Ninth Verse. — “ Their throat is an open sepul- 
chre.” The psalmist is here speaking of wicked men — men who 
are lying, cruel, and deceitful. And he means that they are dan- 
gerous companions, so that they are not safe who listen to them ; 
for while “ they flatter with their tongue,” and say good-natured 
things, their words, proceeding from their throats and mouths, 
are defiled like the sepulchre which contains the putrid body ; or, 
like the sepulchre, they are only prepared to bury those whom 
they have ruined, as in a grave of wretchedness. 

Sixth Psalm , Seventh Verse. — “Mine eye is consumed because 
of grief.” Now this does not mean that the psalmist had lost his 
eye-sight from his sorrow, but is a strong expression, allowed to 
be used in poetry, to mean the greatest grief. The lustre of the 
eye fades away in much grief, as the flame of the candle when it 
is nearly consumed. His eye was “ sunk in his head,” as the 
candle in the socket. 

Seventh Psalm, Eleventh Verse. — “ God is angry with the wick- 
ed every day.” Here we are not to suppose that God is angry 
as we are. When we are angry we sin, but God cannot sin. 
When we are angry we are not happy, but God is always happy. 
But as God cannot so much as look upon sin and not determine 
to punish it, so he is said to be angry at sinners, because this is 
a word by which we can understand what our feelings are about 
those things that disgust us. 

In the following verses of the same psalm, we read of God 
“ whetting his sword,” “ bending his bow,” and “ ordaining or 
directing his arrows against the persecutors.” You will not now 
suppose that God wears a sword, or carries bows and arrows. 
Always remember that “ God is a spirit,” and not flesh and blood 
as we are. But as the sword, the bow, and the arrow, were the 
destroying instruments of war generally in use before gunpowder 
was invented, so we are here taught that God was preparing his 
power to destroy all the persecutors of his people. 


758 



child’s commentator. 

Eleventh Psalm , Fourth Verse . — Hera we read that the Lord’s 
“eyes behold, his eyelids try the children of men.” This is only 
to denote, that as easily as we see every thing with our bodily 
eyes, so God, who is a spirit, can see the very inside of all hearts 
and thoughts, and can try and judge every design, and motive or 
reason, for every thing we do. Let us always remember this. 

Eighteenth Psalm , /Second Verse . — “ The Lord is my rock, and 
my fortress, and my deliverer ; my God, my strength, in whom 
I will trust ; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my 
high tower.” Here we have many expressions meaning the same 
thing. David’s heart was so full of trust in God, that he did not 
know where to find words to express it ; and because, one would 
not do, he used many. The inside of a rock is a place of security 
against a storm ; and it was a refuge often used in Judea to hide 
from an enemy ; some of the caves in the rocks of that country 
being large enough to hold a little army, as we have noticed in 
the history of David. A fortress was also fled to for defence ; it 
was often built upon a high rock, and it was not easy to get at 
those within it. The buckler, like the shield, was a similar defence 
for the body when exposed in war. The high tower was often a 
last refuge when a fortress was taken, being built within it. All 
these words, then, just meant that God was David’s defence and 
strength ; and all that these places could be to him as a soldier, 
God was to his soul as his protector. “The horn of my salvation” 
means also the same thing. Horns, however, belong to animals, 
and not to men ; and this figure of speech is taken from the horn- 
ed beast, whose strength of defence lies in his horn, with which 
he pierces and pushes down his enemies. 

The seventh and following verses of this psalm are very grand 
indeed, and are intended to describe the astonishing deliverance 
of Israel out of Egypt, when God plagued the Egyptians and de- 
stroyed them, as you have read in the Book of Exodus; and also 
the solemn giving of the law in thunders on Mount Sinai, of which 
there is likewise an account in the same book. Here the church 
is taught to sing praises to God about these great events, which 
the ancient people of Israel, in particular, were always called to 
remember. To describe the greatness of God’s power when ho 





CHILD 8 COMMENTATOR. 759 

delivered his people out of Egypt, and when he gave his holy 
laws on Mount Sinai, the psalmist collects together in his mind 
all that is grand and awful in nature. The earthquake ; the thun- 
der storm ; the clouds ; the winds ; the hail ; the lightnings ; the 
pestilence ; the flood ; these are all made to describe the power 
and greatness of Almighty God ! So that when you read, “ There 
went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth 
devoured : coals were kindled by it;” you will not understand it 
that God has nostrils like a creature, and those nostrils really 
breathed fire ; but only as expressing, in fine poetry, the effects 
of the Almighty’s power when he appears in his terrible grandeur, 
fearful as the smoking mountain and the burning volcano. And 
when you read of his “flying upon the wings of the wind,” it is 
to signify that the wind only blows as he directs it, and that, 
when he moves in his great power, his progress is quick and 
mighty as the rapid stormy wind. 

Thirty-fifth Psalm, Seventh Verse. — “ For without cause have 
they hid for me their net in a pit, which, without cause, they 
have digged for my soul.” David here means, not that his ene- 
mies had really laid a net in a pit to catch him, as was the cus- 
tom to catch wild beasts, — but that they acted as craftily towards 
him to entrap him and do him injury. 

Fifty-sixth Psalm, Tenth Verse. — “ Thou tellest my wander- 
ings : put thou my tears into thy bottle : are they not in thy book V * 
When people died, among most of the nations in former ages of 
the world, their bodies were burned, and not buried. Their ashes 
were then collected and put into vessels called urns; and their 
friends, who wept over their remains, dropped their tears so as to 
be collected and put into bottles, which were placed in the ashes 
and safely kept. Now this explains what David means when he 
prays, “Put thou my tears into a bottle ;” not that God has any 
bottle to hold our tears, but that God would take notice of his 
troubles — that he would keep his tears in remembrance, and com- 
fort his soul under them, and deliver him out of his griefs. 

Fifty-seventh Psalm , Fourth Verse.— “ My soul is among lions.” 
By lions David means wicked men, who are ready to destroy 
him if they could, and were fierce and savage ; and so he calls 







760 


child’s commentator. 


them lions. At this time he was pursued by Saul and his party, 
who, you remember, tried to take him and kill him. He wrote 
many of these Psalms when he fled first from Saul, and after- 
wards from Absalom, his rebellious son. 

Sixtieth Psalm , Eighth Verse . — “Moab is my wash-pot; over 
Edom will l cast out my shoe.” When I was quite young, I have 
thought these were odd words, because I did not understand them. 
Moab, you know, was a country, and the name of the country is 
here put for that of the people — the Moabites. Now, neither the 
country nor the people could be David’s wash-pot. The words 
only mean, that as a wash-pot was used to wash the hands and the 
feet — that is, for low and mean purposes — so the wicked Moabites 
were made to serve as drudges to the king of Israel. To “ cast out 
the shoe over Edom,” is supposed to mean to set his foot upon 
Edom, as a sign that he ruled over the Edomites. These words 
occur again in the hundred and sixth psalm, and the ninth verse. 

Sixty -ninth Psalm, First and Second Verses . — “ Save me, O God, 
for the waters are come in unto my soul. I sink in deep mire, 
where there is no standing : I am come into deep waters, where the 
floods overflow me.” “ Waters,” and “ deep mire,” and “ floods,” 
are all words which are used to express great trouble; as a man 
sinking in deep waters, or nearly smothered in mire, or washed 
away by a flood, would be in the greatest distress. You will often 
read such language, and, as in this text, it signifies great affliction. 

The titles of the Psalms are often difficult to understand. We 
must just look at them. You will observe that many of them 
were written at the time of particular events which happened to 
David, of which you have read in his history. The third psalm is 
called a psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son. 
The seventh psalm is concerning the words of Cush, the Benja- 
mite, who seems wrongfully to have accused David to Saul. The 
eighteenth psalm is a psalm of praise to God, written by David 
in the day that the Lord delivered him from all his enemies, and 
from the hand of Saul. The thirtieth was sung at the dedication 
of the house of David, when h» had built and finished his house 
of cedar upon Mount Sion. The thirty -fourth is called a psalm 


child’s commentator. 


761 


of David, when he changed his behaviour before Abimelech ; 
who drove him away, and he departed. You remember that 
David fled from Saul to Achish, king of Gath : that, being disco- 
vered there, he changed his behaviour, and was considered as one 
mad ; and so he was driven away, and escaped the danger that he 
feared. On that occasion he made this psalm. We ought al- 
ways to be thankful to God for our merciful escapes from any 
dangers ; and if we do not, or cannot make psalms, we should ex- 
press our gratitude to God, and David’s words will often help us 
so to do. The thirty-eighth psalm is called “ a psalm to bring to 
remembrance.” David was then in trouble, and brings to re- 
membrance why God afflicted him ; for we shall always find 
when God afflicts us, that there is a reason for it, and that we have 
not loved and served him as we ought to do, and have sinned 
against him so as to deserve his chastisement. The forty-fifth 
is called “a song of loves.” It is a prophecy about Christ, and 
is quoted as such in the Epistle to the Hebrews ; and it shows 
the love which the church of Christ, that is, his people, every- 
where have to him, and their delight in his honour and glory. 
The fifty -first psalm was written after Nathan had told his para- 
ble to David, when he had caused the death of his faithful soldier, 
Uriah. It shows how his heart was broken before God on account 
of his great sin. The fifty-second psalm is called “ a psalm of 
David, when Doeg, the Edomite, came and told Saul, and said 
unto him, David is come to the house of Ahimelech.” You recol- 
lect that David, having escaped from Saul, went to Ahimelech 
the priest, at Nob, from whom he received bread and a sword. 
Doeg, the Edomite, was present, and he told Saul of all that had 
taken place. Saul instantly charged the priest with being guilty 
of treason ; and, though he protested he was quite innocent, Saul 
would not believe him, but ordered his men to slay him and all 
the other priests that were with him. This they refused to do ; 
but Doeg obeyed his command, slew eighty-five priests, destroy- 
ed the city of Nob itself, and even killed all the men, women,* 
and little children, oxen, asses, and sheep. When David heard 
this sad account of what the wicked Doeg had done, he wrote 
this Dsalm. The fifty -fourth psalm was written “ when the Zi- 



CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 

phim,” or Ziphites, “ came and said to Saul, Doth not David 
hide himself with us?” of which you may read in the fourteenth 
chapter of the First Book of Samuel, and in the beginning of the 
twenty-sixth chapter of the same book. The fifty-sixth psalm was 
composed “when the Philistines took him in Gath,” of which 
you may see the account in the twenty-first chapter of the First 
Book of Samuel, from the tenth verse. The fifty-seventh psalm 
was made “ when he fled from Saul in the cave.” In the cave of 
Adullam or Engedi, he was so surrounded by Saul’s guard, that 
it seemed impossible he should escape death if he ventured out. 
This danger occasioned the psalm, and explains why he says, 
“ My soul is among lions;” “They have prepared a net for my 
steps;” “They have digged a pit for me.” Saul and his men 
were fierce as lions against him, and ready, like wild beasts, to 
destroy him ; they surrounded him as with a net, so that he ap- 
peared to have no means of escape; and, by their schemes to en- 
trap him, they might be said to have digged a pit for him, as they 
did to catch the wild beasts. The fifty-ninth psalm is a prayer 
to God for help, “ when Saul sent and they watched the house to 
kill him !” See the nineteenth chapter of the First Book of 
Samuel, and the eleventh verse. The sixtieth psalm : read the 
eighth chapter of the Second Book of Samuel, and the eighteenth 
chapter of the First Book of Chronicles, if you would learn all 
the particulars of this part of David’s history. The sixty-third 
psalm was composed by David “ when he was in the wilderness 
of Judah;” as he fled there, both from Saul and Absalom, we 
cannot tell on which occasion he wrote it; but it shows how 
much he loved to worship God, and how greatly he was grieved, 
when he could not join the people in going to his sanctuary. The 
hundred and forty-second psalm by David is called “ a prayer 
when he was in the cave.” 

Besides these titles, which show on what occasions many of 
the Psalms were written, there are other titles which are not 
given in English words ; because it was not exactly known, by 
those who rendered the Hebrew Bible into English, what might 
be the meaning of those titles. I will tell you, however, what 
Ihey are generally thought to mean. 


CHILD 6 COMMENTATOR. 


763 


The title to the fourth psalm is, “ To the chief musician on 
Neginoth.” Here I must remind you that there were many 
players upon musical instruments in the ancient Israelitish wor- 
ship ; and that these instruments were made with strings, to be 
struck with something to make them sound ; or they were wind 
instruments sounded by the breath and of other sorts, something 
like those which are now used in bands of music. There was a 
master, or head, who directed all the players on each particular 
sort of instrument, or class of instruments. This was the chief 
musician. Now, David intended this psalm to be played upon 
an instrument, or perhaps a variety of instruments, called Negi- 
noth ; which is understood to mean a hand or stringed instru- 
ment ; that is, an instrument made with strings, and played with 
the hand, and not with the mouth. The fifth psalm is “ To the 
chief musician upon Nehiloth,” and this word is descriptive of 
a hollow or wind instrument, or wind instruments, and the chief 
musician of the instrument, or the various instruments blown 
with the breath, was to direct the playing and singing of this 
psalm. 

The sixth psalm is addressed, as the fourth, “ To the chief 
musician on Neginoth,” but it adds, “ upon Sheminith.” Shemi- 
nith means “ the eighth” — that is, the eighth string, or the instru- 
ment with eight strings. So that the title means, “ To the chief 
musician upon the stringed instruments, to be played upon the 
eight-stringed instrument ; or, it might mean, to be played chief- 
ly on the eighth string, in a very high tone. The seventh psalm 
is called “ Shiggaion of David.” The meaning of this word is not 
very plain ; but perhaps, as it means “ to wander,” it signifies a 
psalm written like an ode ; that is, with lines of all sorts of length, 
some very short and some very long, instead of continuing all in 
one steady measure. The eighth psalm is addressed “ To the 
chief musician upon Gittith.” It is thought likely by some that 
Gittith was an instrument which Jeduthun, and his family after 
him, played upon, and which was committed to the care of Obed- 
edom, the Gittite, and his family. The real meaning of this word 
is, however, not well known. Remember, it is not a part of tho 
word of God, but only a title to the psalm, of no more import- 



764 


child’s commentator. 


ance in itself than the number of the psalm, and so we lose no 
thing which it is needful for us to know, if we cannot always un- 
derstand the meaning of a title. 

The ninth psalm is directed “ To the chief musician upon Muth- 
labben.” This was, perhaps, the name of a tune, or of an instru- 
ment. The sixteenth psalm, and some others, have the title, 
“ Michtam of David.” Michtam means, “ A golden or excellent 
psalm.” Some think this was the name of a tune, which, on ac- 
count of its excellency, was called golden, and to which David 
wished the words of his psalm to be sung ; others think it was a 
musical instrument, which, being much admired, bore the name 
of Michtam. The twenty-second psalm is inscribed “ To the 
chief musician on Aijeleth Shahar.” Some think the words mean 
“ at the dawning of the day j” and so the psalm was intended to 
be sung by the priests and Levites every morning, as soon as 
the day began to appear. The thirty-second psalm is marked by 
the word “Maschil,” which means instruction. This title may, 
therefore, merely describe what the psalm contains, or, like the 
others 1 have noticed, mean the name of the tune to which it was 
to be sung, or of the instrument on which it was to be played. 
The thirty-ninth psalm was intended for Jeduthun the musician, 
and the forty-second for the sons of Korah, who performed in the 
holy service. The forty-fifth psalm is addressed “ To the chief 
musician upon Shoshannim,” which was either the name of an in- 
strument of six strings, or the first word in a sacred song, to the 
tune of which David might wish this psalm to be sung. The for- 
ty-sixth psalm was most probably intended, by the title, to be 
played upon an instrument called Alamoth, as it is mentioned in 
Chronicles. The fifty-third psalm is directed to the chief musician 
upon Mahalath, which is thought, by some, to have been a wind 
instrument. The title of the fifty-sixth psalm has a very difficult 
word, and is /or, or “ To the chief musician upon Jonath-elemre- 
chokim.” A learned man says that the words mean, “ concerning 
the mute dove among them that are in far places ;” and so they 
signify that when David wrote this psalm,’ he was as a quiet in- 
nocent dove, far from home, among the wicked Philistines. The 
fifty-seventh psalm has this title : “ To the chief musician Altas 


CHILD B COMMENTATOR. 


765 

cnetn, Michtam of David, &c.” Altascheth means, “ do not de- 
stroy,” and is thought to describe the state of trouble in which 
David’s mind was, when he wrote the psalm ; as if he had said, 
“ A psalm written in great grief, when I prayed to God not to 
destroy me.” The sixtieth psalm is “ To the chief musician upon 
Shushan-eduth ;” which perhaps means a six-stringed instrument. 
The word “ Neginah,” in the title of the sixty-first psalm, means 
the same as Neginoth ; that is, a stringed instrument. The eighty- 
eighth psalm has this expression in the title : “To the chief mu- 
sician upon Mahalath Leannoth.” I have already said that Ma- 
halath is taken for a musical wind instrument, and as Leannoth 
signifies to answer, it is likely that this psalm was to be sung in 
what we call responses ; that is, by parties of singers singing by 
turns. 

The hundred and nineteenth psalm is divided into as many 
parts as there are letters in the Hebrew alphabet ; each part being 
of equal length, and having eight verses. Aleph, Beth, and the 
other words at the beginning of every ninth verse, are the names 
of the Hebrew letters, just as if we were to proceed in the same 
way with A, B, C. There are four psalms so divided, which we 
call alphabetical psalms. These are the twenty -fifth, thirty-fourth, 
thirty-seventh, and hundred and nineteenth; though only the lat- 
ter is so distinguished in our Bibles. The reason for this order 
seems to have been merely to help the memory. As the first word 
of every eight verses began with the same letter, it would be more 
easy to recollect what followed. Here it may be worthy of re- 
mark, that the hundred and nineteenth is the longest of the 
psalms, and longer than any chapter in the whole Bible. The hun- 
dred and twentieth psalm bears the name of “ a song of degrees,” 
as likewise do many others that follow. They are generally sup- 
posed to have been sung by the Levites as they ascended some 
steps in the temple when they engaged in the sacred services ; 
and so they sung them through as they advanced, by degrees , up 
the steps. In many of the psalms, you will find the word “ Se- 
lah.” It is not certain what this means, but the most general 
opinion is that it was a mark in music, signifying that the singer 
should pause. In the ninth psalm, we have the words, “ Higgaion, 


child’s commentator. 


766 

Selah.” Higgaion means meditation; perhaps signifying that the 
singers should particularly meditate on what they were then 
singing, as well as pause. 

We must now take notice of the authors of the Psalms ; for, 
though they are often called David’s Psalms, they were not all 
written by him, and you will find many of them with other names. 
Many psalms are by Asaph, who is mentioned as a seer or pro- 
phet in the twenty-ninth chapter of the second book of Chroni- 
cles, and the thirtieth verse. The forty-fifth psalm is by Solomon, 
or written by some one for his use. The ninetieth psalm was 
written by Moses, and is supposed to have been occasioned by 
God’s threatening to cut off the people of Israel from entering 
the land of Canaan, when they believed the reports of the timid 
spies about its dangers instead of trusting in God. Many psalms 
have not any names of their authors, and so they can only be 
guessed at from the subjects of them, and as they refer to events 
which happened when David was not living. Thus the hundred 
and thirty-seventh psalm is an affecting account of the sufferings 
of the Israelites, when they were captives in Babylon, and hung 
their harps on the willows which grew there in abundance by the 
side of the streams, refusing to play them, on account of their 
great sorrow. As this happened long after David’s time, it is 
supposed that the psalm was written by some Levite on his en- 
tering, as a captive, into Babylon. Again ; the hundred and 
twenty-sixth psalm expresses joy on return from captivity ; and, 
as Ezra the scribe was among those released by the proclama- 
tion of Cyrus, it is supposed that he was its author. 

With one more observation we shall finish the Book of Psalms. 
You will find some of them containing some very severe and an- 
gry expressions about punishing wicked men, and praying that 
God would do them all sorts of harm. Now, Jesus Christ tells us 
to pray for our enemies, and even to do good to them that hate 
us and do us harm. The word of God does not contradict it- 
self; and very learned men tell us that the parts which we so 
read are prophetical, and tell what God will do to the wicked. 



child's commentator. 767 


and ought not to read in English as prayers for his vengeance to 
fall upon them. If, however, it were allowed to a Jew so to pray, 
it is not allowed to a Christian. We are to be merciful as our 
Father in heaven is merciful ; and there is something very de- 
lightful to a pious mind to be able to return good for evil, and 
even to pray for a cruel enemy. Without we can do this, we 
only mock God, and shut ourselves out from hope of his mercy, 
when we pray, “ Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them 
that trespass against us.” My dear young reader, if any have 
offended you, or done you harm, can you forgive them, as I hope 
“ God, for Christ’s sake, hath forgiven you V' Think on this, 
and pray to God for a forgiving spirit, and that he would even 
help you to “ love your enemies.” 





SITTING UNDER THE VINE 











A GARDEN IN THE HOLY LAND. 




















child's commentator. 771 


thougn Solomon speaks, yet as God gave him the wisdom, and 
it relates to what will make us good in life, and happy in death, 
and beyond the grave, we ought to mind every word we here 
read as if God spoke in our ears. 

There are two sorts of Proverbs which I shall shortly notice. 
First, those which are difficult to understand ; and secondly, those 
which you ought particularly to remember: pray to God to en- 
able you to fasten them in your memories. 

Let us look at some that need explaining. The Proverbs do 
not begin till the tenth chapter ; the chapters before that are only 
a sort of introduction, to tell you what is coming, and how and 
why you ought to attend to it. It is said, “ Wisdom crieth with- 
out, she uttereth her voice in the streets ;” meaning, that the in- 
struction of these proverbs is not a secret, but a thing published, 
that all may hear and become wise. Here wisdom is spoken of 
as if it were a female person. 

Tenth Chapter, Fifth Verse. — “ He that gathereth in summer 
is a wise son ; but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth 
shame.” All sons are not farmers ; Solomon only means this, 
as Mr. Henry well explains it : “ He that gets knowledge in the 
days of his youth gathers in summer, and he will have the com- 
fort and credit of it; but he that idles away the days of his youth 
will bear the shame of it when he is old.” 

Tenth Chapter , Tenth Verse. — “ He that winketh with the eye 
causeth sorrow.” How can that be ? Is there any harm, then, 
in winking with the eye? Not always; but it always means 
something sly ; and here it signifies that the wicked go to work 
in a sly manner to ruin those who keep company with them ; and 
wink one to another while they plot their ruin, and try to make 
others as vile as themselves. 

Tenth Chapter, Fifteenth Verse. — “ The rich man’s wealth is 
his strong city.” That is, the rich man often thinks himself secure 
as if he were in a fortified city, because he is great in riches and 
power. But this is a foolish thought, for the richest men have 
often become poor ; and riches are at last no defence against 
death, and will never help the rich man in the day of judgment. 

Tenth Chapter , Twenty-sixth Verse. — “ As vinegar to the teeth, 

29 



772 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


and as smoke to the eyes, so is a sluggard to them that send 
him.” Mr. Henry tells us, this means that a slothful servant is 
to his master as uneasy and troublesome as vinegar to the teeth, 
and smoke to the eyes ; he provokes his passion as vinegar sets 
the teeth on edge, and occasions him grief to see his business 
neglected, and undone, as smoke sets the eyes a-weeping. If we 
are ever employed to deliver a message, let us, then, always en. 
deavour to do it with care and speed. 

Tenth Chapter, Twenty-seventh Verse. — “ The fear of the Lord 
prolongeth days ; but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.” 
Some good men die in early life, and some good children die ; 
while some bad men live to old age ; but still those who fear 
God are kept from sinful practices which destroy the health, and 
cut short the days of many of the wicked ; and though some of 
the wicked live long, yet many of them are hurried away into 
, eternity by their wickedness, as well as in their wickedness. 

S . Eleventh Chapter , Twenty-second Verse. — “ As a jewel of gold 
in a swine’s snout, so is a fair woman which is without discre- 
;=j> tion.” This means — my young female readers— that beauty 
] tf without piety and modesty, is no more to be admired, than 
the ornament of a jewel if it were stuck into the nose of a 
swine. 

Eleventh Chapter , Twenty-fifth Verse. — “ The liberal soul shall 
be made fat.” That is, God will prosper him, which is what is 
usually meant in Scripture by being made fat. He shall be sure 
to prosper in his soul, if he may not always prosper in his cir- 
cumstances, which, notwithstanding his kindness to others, God 
may not always see to be really good for him. 

Twelfth Chapter, Twelfth Verse. — “The wicked desireth the 
net of evil men.” This means, that wicked men like much to be 
able to imitate other wicked men, in dragging their companions 
into the ways of sin and ruin. 

Thirteenth Chapter, Ninth Verse. — “The light of the righteous 
rejoiceth : but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out.” Light 
and lamp are words often used in Scripture to mean happiness 
and prosperity ; because a light is a cheerful thing, as prosperity 
is, and because the lamp is that which holds the cheerful light. 







The good man’s happiness shall continue, while that of the wick 
ed must be destroyed for ever. 

Thirteenth Chapter, Fourteenth Verse. — “ The law of the wise 
is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.” The 
law of the wise is the rule by which they walk, and by which 
they guide others. The advice they give to themselves and 
others is their law. And those whom God has made wise are 
good guides, because they strive to do what God commands, and 
direct others to do the same. So that their advice is like a full 
stream flowing from a good fountain, of which we may safely 
drink without fear of being poisoned. 

Fifteenth Chapter , Nineteenth Verse . — “ The way of the sloth- 
ful man is as a hedge of thorns that is, he who is idle always 
pretends that there is some difficulty in the way to prevent him 
from working, as bad as a hedge of thorns to prevent any one 
passing through them. I have known idle children like this, who, 
when told to learn a lesson, have looked very sad, and complain- 
ed it was so hard, and so long; and 1 have known some who 
were so wicked, as to be sadly disposed to be idle, when told to 
learn or to do anything that more especially related to the ser- 
vice of God : there was always a hedge of thorns in the way. 

Twentieth Chapter , Twentieth Verse. — u Whoso curseth his fa- 
ther or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure dark- 
ness.” This was death under the Jewish law ; and though that 
law is now done away, it is not less wicked to be guilty of such 
a practice ; and, if not deeply repented of, God will punish the 
rebellious and undutiful child. 

Twenty-second Chapter , Eighth Verse. — “ He that soweth ini- 
quity, shall reap vanity ; and the rod of his anger shall fail.” 
Iniquity is here compared to seed, and he that sows it shall have 
no good fruit from it. If such an one be in authority — for rod 
means a mark of power — his authority shall fail. He often loses 
his power on earth, and God shall punish him in his loss of it at 
last, when he shall sink into eternal shame. 

Twenty-second Chapter , Twenty-eighth Verse. — “Remove not 
the ancient landmarks which thy fathers have set.” You may 
remember, I told you before about the landmarks in early times, 




774 child’s commentator. 


before there were fields and hedges. These marks were only cer- 
tain stones, which it might be easy to move, but in doing so a 
man stole the land of another. This was wicked. 

Twenty-second Chapter , Twenty-ninth Verse. — “ Seest thou a 
man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings ; he 
shall not stand before mean men.” This is to teach us, that the 
industrious are the most likely to become rich and great. 

Twenty-third Chapter , Fourth Verse. — “ Labour not to be 
rich.” This is not to teach us to be idle ; but only to teach us 
not to spend all our strength in getting rich for this world — not 
to set our hearts on money, for money, without the love of God, 
will never make us truly happy. 

Twenty-jifth Chapter , Eleventh Verse. — “ A word fitly spoken 
is like apples of gold in pictures of silver,” or rather, in silver 
baskets. It means, that when we say wise things, at proper 
times, our words are as beautiful as fine golden apples served 
up at table in these silver baskets. 

Twenty-sixth Chapter , Third Verse. — “ A whip for the horse, a 
bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool’s back.” Wicked men 
are compared to the horse and the ass, so brutish are they, so 
unreasonable, so unruly, and not to be governed but by force and 
fear, so low has sin sunk them — so much below themselves. “ A 
horse,” — says Mr. Henry, whose words I have just mentioned, — 
“ A horse unbroken needs a whip for correction, and an ass a bri. 
die for directing and to check him when he would turn out of the 
way ; so a vicious man, that will not be under the conduct and 
restraint of religion and reason, ought to be whipped and bridled, 
to be rebuked severely, and made to smart for what he has done 
amiss, and to be restrained from offending any more.” 

Twenty-sixth Chapter , Seventh Verse. — “ The legs of the lame 
are not equal ; so is a parable in the mouth of fools.” That is, 
as the lame man cannot walk evenly, so neither can a fool or bad 
man give good advice ; so do not attend to him. 

Twenty-sixth Chapter , Fourteenth Verse. — “ As the door turn 
eth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed.” “ The 
door is moved, but not removed.” The lazy child loves his bed 
better than his learning. 


I 






child’s commentator. 775 


Twenty-sixth Chupter, Sixteenth Verse. — “The sluggard is 
wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a rea- 
son.” Idle people often think themselves wise, and so they never 
grow wiser. 

I could explain to you many more of these Proverbs : how- 
ever, this may suffice. If you find others you do not understand 
with ease, yet by thinking about them, and recollecting how these 
were explained, you will now understand them better. You can 
also ask your parents and instructors to assist you when you find 
any difficulty ; and above all pray that, w ith all your knowledge, 
God would himself teach you by his Holy Spirit, and make you 
wise unto salvation. 


But there is a second class of Proverbs which you will easily 
understand ; these contain many things wffiich I would wish you 
to think frequently over. 

Tenth Chapter , First Verse. — “A wise son maketh a glad fa- 
ther ; but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.” Solomon 
here reminds us that good children make happy parents. 

Twelfth Chapter , Twenty-second Verse. — “ Lying lips are an 
abomination to the Lord.” So, you see, that those who lie do 
not only disgrace themselves, and displease others, but they 
make themselves abominable to Almighty God. 

Thirteenth Chapter , First Verse. — “ A wise son heareth his fa- 
ther’s instruction.” Mr. Matthew Henry was a very good, as 
well as a very w'ise man, and he has told us that “ there is great 
hope of those that have a reverence for their parents, and are 
willing to be advised and admonished by them.” 

Thirteenth Chapter , Eighteenth Verse. — “ Poverty and shame 
shall be to him that refuseth instruction.” Mr. Henry says of 
him, what has often happened, that “ he will become a beggar; 
and live and die in disgrace : every one will despise him, as fool- 
ish, and stubborn, and ungovernable.” 

Thirteenth Chapter , Twenty-first Verse. — “ Evil pursueth sin- 
ners.” Whenever they go in the ways of sin, misery is sure in 
the end to follow after, and will certainly overtake them. 




776 child’s commentator. 

i 

Thirteenth Chapter , Twenty-fourth Verse. — “ He that spareth 
the rod hateth his son.” You are not to suppose 'by this that 
Solomon was a cruel man, and advised parents to be always whip- 
ping their children. No : what he intended to say was, that bad 
children must be corrected to make them good, and that parents 
who let them do bad things without correcting them, and by a 
foolish fondness allow them to have their own way, do not in re- 
ality love them ; but, by their conduct, do as those who care no- 
thing about their happiness, and, indeed, who hate them. 

Fourteenth Chapter , Ninth Verse. — “ Fools make a mock at 
sin.” We should never laugh at w'icked things. If any one says 
a witty thing in our hearing, we may innocently laugh at it ; but 
if it be wicked wit, and only ridicules what is good, or be express- 
ed in wicked language, none but fools will join in the laugh. Those 
who love God, if they cannot reprove the sinner, will shudder 
and turn away, and pray God to forgive him for Christ’s sake. 

Fifteenth Chapter , First Verse. — “ A soft answer turneth away 
{ wrath ; but grievous words stir up anger.” Human nature is very 
| perverse, and young people will sometimes, in a passion, speak 

1 very rudely to their parents or teachers. The consequence is, that 

they make them angry, and they get themselves corrected. Now, 
if they spoke softly and kindly, they would often get pardoned, 
even when they have done something very wrong ; and those 
young persons who bear in mind what Solomon says, and try it 
often, will be sure to find that, generally, a soft answer is the 
best thing in the world when they are reproved. And so, if their 
companions quarrel with them, if they only speak softly and per- 
suasively in reply, they will find that most children will listen to 
them instead of striking them, and that “a soft answer turneth 
away wrath.” But if, on the contrary, they return ill words for 
ill words, and harsh names for harsh names, they will find that 
“grievous words stir up anger.” Solomon said so a long while 
ago, and what he said still remains true. 

Fifteenth Chapter , Fifth Verse. — “ A fool despiseth his father’s 
instruction.” Then you perceive that a disobedient child is a 
fool. 

Fifteenth Chapter , Thirty -second Verse. — “ He that refuseth 


child’s commentator. 


777 


instruction despiseth his own soul.” He who will not mind the 
advice of pious friends, not only shows disrespect and ingratitude 
to them, but he despises his own soul, as if it were worth no- 
thing ; and so plunges that into sin, which a world could not buy, 
so great is its value. 

Sixteenth Chapter , Eighteenth Verse. — “ Pride goeth before de- 
struction ; and an haughty spirit before a fall.” This often hap- 
pens in. this world, but it will be sure to happen in the next. 
“ Pride will have a fall.” God hates pride ; let us hate it too. 

Seventeenth Chapter, Seventeenth Verse. — “ A friend loveth at 
all times.” This is whafr a friend should be ; one who will love 
his friend when he *s cast down, as well as when he is raised up ; 
when he becomes poor, as well as when he was rich. Few faithful 
friends are to be found ; but there are some; and if all men truly 
loved God, there would be more. There is, however, one fHend 
w r ho is sure to be faithful, and that is Jesus Christ — he is the same 
yesterday, to-day, and for ever. He loves those that love him at 
all times, and we ought, therefore, at all times to love him. 

Seventeenth Chapter , Twenty -fifth Verse. — “ A foolish son is a 
grief to his father, and bitterness to her that bare him.” Here we 
are taught to remember that bad children are a grief to their 
parents. 

.Nineteenth Chapter , Twenty-seventh Verse. — “Cease, my son, 
to hear the instruction that causeth thee to err from the words of 
knowledge.” Here you are advised to run away and not even 
to hear, much less follow, the advice of those who would lead you 
into wicked ways. 

Twentieth Chapter, Eleventh Verse. — “Even a child is known 
by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.” 
My dear young reader, religion is to be practised while you are 
young ; and as sure as 'the tree is knowm by the fruit, so may we 
know r by your doings whether you love God or not, and whether 
you are in the way to heaven or hell. If you say bad words, 
keep bad company, and do bad things, what can we judge of you ? 
If you learn your Bibles, love them who serve God, and do what 
God’s word commands you, then we may believe that your doings 
are such as God loves, and that God will love you ; not that your 



778 child’s commentator. 


doings can merit his love — for they are imperfect at best — but 
then they are a sign that you love him ; and he says, “ I love 
them that love me, and they that seek me early shall find me.” 

The thirtieth chapter contains the Proverbs of Agur ; and the 
thirty-first of king Lemuel, which is thought to be another name 
for Solomon. 


Young reader, I pray that God may give you his grace to 
practise these Proverbs, and then you may expect to grow up 
both wise and happy. Amen. 



I 



THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTES ; 

OR, 

KING SOLOMON’S THOUGHTS ON THE WORLD. 


THE FIRST TO THE TWELFTH CHAPTER. 

‘ anity of vanities, saith the preacher ; all is vanity.” — Chap. i. 2. 


This was king Solomon s opinion of the world. He meant by 
it, that there is nothing in it which can satisfy the wants of the 
soul, and that it can never make one truly happy. It has many 
pleasures to offer us; but then they will do us no good when we 
come to die ; and those who live longest will live but a little 
time in the world. Then, that is the wisest person who is always 
preparing for the next world. Now, this is what Solomon meant 
to teach us in writing this book. 

He was a rich and powerful king, and if any one could find 
happiness in this world, such an one as Solomon could. But af- 
ter he had tried honours, and riches, and pleasures, and learning, 
and knowledge, of all sorts, he said all was vanity. 

He meant by this that all were good for nothing. He was too 
wise a man not to know that honours are very pleasant things, 
and riches help to get many enjoyments ; and pleasures have 
some charms in them; and learning has its delights; and know- 
ledge is very useful, and makes us respectable ; — but, then, he 



780 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


would have us remember, that we have souls which require our 
care, and that if we neglect to take care of these, and do not pay 
much attention to their happiness — honours, riches, pleasures, 
learning, and knowledge, as they must leave us at the grave, will 
prove in the end “vanity of vanities.” 

We must not, then, make our happiness to consist of honours ; 
nor set our hearts covetously on getting riches ; nor let our time 
and attention be given away to silly pleasures ; nor study to get 
human knowledge and learning, while we take no pains to become 
wise unto salvation. 

What I have said is the substance of what Solomon has taught 
us in this book. But the last chapter is more particularly de- 
signed for the notice of the young. In this Solomon writes as if 
he would say, “ Seeing the world is all so vain, and that there is 
nothing in it that remains long, all its comforts are of a dying 
sort then I will tell you of the best remedy to cure these evils. 
This remedy is to serve God while you are young. “ Remember 
now thy Creator in the days of thy youth.” Now you are healthy 
and strong, remember him, — and then you will find comfort and 
support for your mind when you become old and weak. Now, 
before you go into the world, remember him, — and then you will 
have comfort dwelling in your mind ready to support it whenever 
you meet with trouble. Now, while your heart is not filled with 
the follies of the world, remember him, — and then you will be 
the more likely to have room in your hearts for God, and true 
happiness. 

Thus, my readers, you will bear Solomon’s advice in mind, 
and learn by his experience, without suffering the pain of his dis- 
appointments. 

All the wise Solomon here says, then, ends in this advice, “ Let 
us hear the conclusion of the whole matter, Fear God and keep 
his commandments ; for this is the whole duty of man.” Here 
you will learn your duty to God and your duty to yourself. God 
made you to be happy ; and in fearing God and keeping his com- 
mandments, you will find true happiness. 

Now, dear young reader, make your choice ; for God will, by 
and by, take notice of what choice you make. “ For God shall 


1 



child’s COMMENTATOR. 781 


bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whe- 
ther it be good or whether it be evil.” He knows even the very 
desires of your heart — secret as they are ; and whether you now 
wish to serve him. If you wish to serve divers lusts and plea- 
sures, these are not the way to serve God ; but if you love his 
word, his people, and his ways, then you will serve him ; and in 
the day of judgment, — or trial of the whole world, for keeping or 
disobeying the commandments of God, — while many shall grieve 
that they followed the pleasures of sin, which are but “ for a sea- 
son,” — or for a very little while — you shall rejoice that you chose 
the way which leads to heaven, where there are “pleasures for 
evermore.” 



782 


CHILD S COMMENT ATUK. 


THE SONG OF SOLOMON ; 

OR, 

A SACRED POEM ABOUT CHRIST AND THE CHURCH. 


THE FIRST TO THE EIGHTH CHAPTER. 

“ The song of songs, which is Solomon’s.” — Chap. i. 1. 


This book is what is called an allegory. An allegory is rather 
difficult to understand. It signifies a writing, the language of 
which seems to represent one thing, but really it means another. 
The celebrated Pilgrim’s Progress, by John Bunyan, is an alle- 
gory ; and while it describes a journey over hills, vales, and wa- 
ter, it signifies all that happens to the Christian, while he is in 
this world, and on his way to heaven. 

The Song of Solomon signifies the love of Christ to his church 
or people, and the love of his church or people to him ; and, be- 
ing poetry, it has a number of comparisons with objects in na- 
ture and art, like the Psalms. The sun, the moon, the lily, the 
rose, the apple-tree, the beautiful hart, the majestic horse, the 
fragrant spices, the precious stones, the lofty towers, the splendid 
army. — and many objects of superior excellency or grandeur in 
Eastern countries, — are all employed by which to express the 
language of love and admiration. We can never think too high- 
ly of the blessed Saviour, and we know how tenderly he loves 
his church. 



JEREMIAH BEFORE THE KING 









CHEBAR, SCENE OF EZEKIEL’S VISION. 



* 










785 



child’s commentator. 


Having said thus much, I do not think it necessary to say 
much more. I do not suppose you could well understand this 
book, were I to attempt to explain it to you. When you grow 
older, if you grow up to love the divine Saviour, you will then 
find what I have already said, to be of some use to you, to help 
you the better to understand its meaning, into which, I hope, you 
will be fully able to enter. 

I shall just add, that Christ, in this book, is represented as the 
bridegroom or husband of his church, and the church as the bride 
or wile ; just a.s, in other places, God is sometimes called a Fa- 
ther, and we his sons and daughters ; and so, we learn that the 
tender love which exists between affectionate fathers and mothers, 
is a faint resemblance of that devotedness of heart which the 
church of Christ have towards him, who is “ altogether lovely,” 
and that everlasting love which he bears to his church. 
wj On account of the excellency and purity of the subject about 
I which Solomon here sings, this poetical book is called “The Song 

i H of Songs,” which means, “ The most excellent Song;” a song that 

: J is far better than all other songs. To sing the praises of Jesus 

jjf is employment in which angels have been engaged ; and his 
praises will be the everlasting songs of heaven. 

I Let me remind you, before I conclude my remarks on this 

book, that the fruits, the herbs, the dress, the adornments, the 
buildings, and all the manners and customs mentioned in this sa- 
cred poem, are Eastern, and. therefore, many of them differ very 
much from what we see in this country. 




786 


child’s commentator. 


THE FOUR GREATER PROPHETS. 


I 


THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH ; 


OF EVENTS FORETOLD BY HIM WHICH WERE TO COME TO PASS 
AND HAVE SINCE HAPPENED. 


1 4 


THE FIRST TO THE SIXTY-SIXTH CHAPTER. 


“For I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there 
is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and 
from ancient times the things that are not yet done.” — Chap, 
xlvi. 9, 10. 


Prophecies are words that tell us of things that are to come 
to pass a great while before they take place ; and prophets are 
those who speak these words. There are wicked people who pre- 
tend to know what will happen to others, and people who, from 
foolish curiosity, pay them to tell them their fortunes. He who 
gives the money in this case is a fool, and he who takes it is a 
rogue. For none but a fool can ever suppose that a human crea- 
ture like himself, can know any thing more about future things 
that will happen to him, than he himself can ; and none but a 



child’s commentators 787 

rogue ■will take money for cheating another, — pretending to do 
what he cannot do. 

But God knows all things, past, present, and to come ; and he 
could, if he pleased, make us know every thing that is to happen 
in the world. In old times he did teach many such things to 
some men who were called prophets, and he especially used them 
to warn Israel and Judah of what would come upon them if they 
were wicked. Many of these things have since happened. Some 
things, he also told them, which have not yet come to pass ; but 
we believe that they will, for this reason, — because many things 
which they said would happen hundreds of years after they should 
be dead, have really taken place. 

These prophecies, among other uses, serve to show us that the 
Scriptures are of no human origin, but are really the word of 
God : because, as I said before, none but God can possibly know 
what is to happen many hundreds of years to come. They prove 
that “ every word of God is true,” and, as his words have come 
to pass, so all that remain to be fulfilled shall take place ; and we 
may cheerfully hope for all the blessings of the righteous, if we 
walk in his holy ways, or fearfully dread all the punishments of 
the ungodly, if we wander far from them. 

The prophets most frequently spoke in what is called figurative 
language, and so they used figures or similitudes to express 
things which were to happen ; and sometimes they were ordered 
to do so by signs, and at other times by plain words. As they 
prophesied under a divine influence, or the power of God’s Spirit 
affecting their minds, they could not alw'ays even know them- 
selves what w r as fully meant by their prophecies. By speaking 
in obscure language, while they said enough to warn the sinful 
people w'hom they addressed, they so concealed the bringing 
about the events which they foretold, that no human means could 
be used to try and baffle them — though, had they spoken plainer, 
no device could, indeed, have succeeded against the determination 
of God. Kings, queens, and magistrates, are frequently repre- 
sented by the sun, moon, and stars; kingdoms and cities, by 
mountains and hills ; God’s faithful covenant, or engagements to 
bless his people, by the promise of marriage, in which the husr 



788 


child’s commentator. 


band or wife agree to be faithful to each other as long as they 
live ; and idolatry by the most wicked and polluted deeds in so- 
ciety. 

Some of the prophets spoke of their prophecies as “ the burden 
of the Lord perhaps, because they were a great weight upon 
their spirits, when they plainly foretold heavy punishments to be 
inflicted on the people of God, on account of their sins ; or per- 
haps, because they pronounced a heavy doom, which should press 
down the guilty people, as a burden does an animal or a man, 
when it is too weighty for him to bear. 

Most of the prophets lived during the times of the kings of 
Israel and Judah, of which you have read. There were other pro- 
phets besides those whose writings are here gathered together ; 
but all were not commanded to write what they wrote, but only 
those who foretold things which were far distant. 

The prophets are not arranged in the order in which they wrote 
but rather according to the extent of their prophecies, the large 
books being placed first. 

The books of the prophets are sixteen in number. Four of 
these are called the Greater Prophets, not because they were 
more important than the rest, but because their prophecies are 
more extensive. The remaining twelve are, on account of their 
containing less, called the Minor Prophets. 

The Jews were privileged with prophets to warn them against 
the consequences of sin, and to stir them up to serve the true 
God, from the time they left Egypt, to the time when they were 
carried away captives into Babylon, which occupied a period of 
nine hundred years. 

But the written prophecies occupy a period of only three hun- 
dred and fifty-six years. The order in which the prophets wrote, 
will be seen by the following table : — 



NAME OF THE 

:jr? 

friii 

la the Reigns of the following 

Prophesied 
about the 

PROPHET 

Kings of Judah and Israel. 

same time 


a a * 



with 



fUzziah . . . 'j 



1. HOSEA . 

3194 

J Jotham . . . ; 

• Aliaz. . . . j 

Jeroboam II. 




^Ilezekiah . . J 



2. AMOS . . 

8219 

Uzziah 

Jeroboam II. 




pUzziah .... 



3. ISAIAH . 

3236 

J Jotlnun .... 

• Ahnz .... 





j^Hezekiah . . . 



4. JONAH . 


Manasseh. . . . 

J Joash. 





( Jeroboam 11 




| Jotham ... 1 


5. MICAH . 

3246 

< Aliaz . . . . V 
/ Hezekiah . . ) 

.... 

Isaiah. 

6. NAHUM . 

3291 

Ilezekiah . . . 

• • • • 

Isaiah. 



1 Josiah. 



7. JEREMIAH 

3375 

1 Jehoaz. 

( Jehoiakim. 



8. ZEPIIANIAH 

3381 

Josiah ..... 

• • • 

Jeremiah. 

9. JOEL . . 

. • 

J osiah. 





r Taken a Captive 





into Clialdtea in 



10. DANIEL . 

3398 

the reign of Je- 
hoiakim, and pro 
phesied during 





„ the captivity. 



11. HABAKKUK 

8394 . 

Jehoiakim. . . . 


Jeremiah. 

12. EZEKIEL . 

3409 

( During part of the 
\ captivity. 



13. OBADIAH. 

8414 

( After the taking 
( of Jerusalem. 



14. HAGGrAI . 

8484 

j Born during the ) 




] captivity . . J 

• • • • 

Zechariah. 

15. ZECIIARIAH 


. . ... 






• • • • 

Haggai. 

16. MALACHI . 

• • 

1 The last of the l 
t Jewish prophets i 

• • • 

C Prophesi’d af- 
< ter the death 





( of Nehemiah. 





You must not be surprised if you find other dates and times 
given by some writers, to the periods in which the prophets 
lived ; for as some of them can only be imagined from the con- 
tents of their prophecies, every one is left to have his own opin- 
ion on these matters. 

The prophet Isaiah warned the Jewish people of their wicked- 
ness ; exhorted them to repentance ; and comforted those, who 
truly loved God, with an assurance of better times, and the future 
coming and triumphs of Jesus Christ, the true Messiah or anoint- 
ed Saviour. 

Several very remarkable predictions appear in this prophecy. 
Let us just look at two. 

The first relates to the captivity of the Jews in Babylon, on 
account of their sins, and their deliverance by Cyrus the Persian 
conqueror. You will find this prophecy in the forty-fifth chapter 
of Isaiah. “ Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose 
right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him ; and I 
will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two-leaved 
gates ; and the gates shall not be shut ; I will go before thee, and 
make the crooked places straight : I will break in pieces the gates 
of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron : and I will give thee 
the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that 
thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, 
am the God of Israel. For Jacob, my servant’s sake, and Israel, 
mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have sur- 
named thee, although thou hast not known me.” 

In this prophecy, Cyrus the Conqueror is called by his name, 
as much as two hundred years before he was born. He was called 
the Lord’s anointed, because he was raised up to be a king by the 
particular design of God, in order that he might deliver the peni- 
tent Jews out of their captivity in Babylon. By holding his right 
hand is meant God’s giving him help and power, — the right hand 
usually meaning power in the prophecies, and frequently else- 
where. By loosing the loins of kings before him, is meant weak- 
ening them ; and Cyrus overcame Croesus the rich king of Lydia, 
and Belshazzar the powerful king of Babylon. The prediction of 
opening the two-leaved gates, and that the gates should not be 


OlYe 


‘■■4 


shut, was wonderfully fulfilled at Babylon. This city was so 
strong that Cyrus could never have taken it ; but, the night in 
which he did take it, the gates of brass were carelessly left open, 
whilst the king and his people were feasting and drinking, fancy- 
ing themselves in perfect security. So God’s word, by Isaiah, 
came true. Making crooked places straight, is an expression used 
in various places, and means the overcoming of difficulties. The 
words which mention the breaking in pieces the gates of brass 
and cutting in sunder the bars of iron, well describe the strength 
of the gates of Babylon, which God opened to Cyrus. There 
were no less than a hundred gates in the wall which surrounded 
Babylon, and these were all made of solid brass ; twenty-five be- 
ing on each side of the city ; and these, to make them as secure 
as possible, were all barred with iron. 

Those who serve God shall not go unrewarded. Though Cyrus 
does not appear to have been a good man, yet as he did good and 
fulfilled the purpose of God in releasing the Israelites from Baby- 
lon, God rewarded him by giving him “ the treasures of dark 
ness by which are meant much gold and silver which come 
out of the dark bowels of the earth, and, perhaps, also much 
which were hidden and laid up in concealed places, by those 
princes whom he conquered. Pliny, a Roman writer, says, that 
when Cyrus conquered Asia, he carried away thirty-four thou- 
sand pounds of gold, besides golden vessels and other treasures. 
Babylon was a rich and powerful city ; being forty-five miles 
round, which is almost twice the circumference of New York; its 
kings had long been gathering wealth from their large conquests, 
and all these spoils now fell to the share of Cyrus. 

The wonderful prophecy of Isaiah, is said, by a very ancient 
writer, to have been read by Cyrus; and, if so, it must greatly 
have encouraged him, and induced him to help the suffering 
Jews. 

The second remarkable portion of this prophecy relates to the 
sufferings of Christ. In the fifty-third chapter of his prophecies, 
Isaiah speaks of him as making his.appearance as “a root out of 
a dry ground, having no form nor comeliness in him that is, 
looking mean as a withered plant, which in that state has lost all 



792 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


its beauty and verdure. So He “ who was rich, for our sakes be- 
came poor.” He tells us, “ He is despised and rejected of men, a 
man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” So, indeed, was 
Jesus of Nazareth, when he came into the world to save sinners ; 
“ He came unto his own” people, “ and his own received him not.” 
“ Surely,” says the prophet, “ he hath borne our griefs and carried 
our sorrows.” “We did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and 
afflicted.” “ He was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised 
for our iniquities ;” “ and with his stripes,” or through his suffer- 
ings, “ we are healed — we sinners, wounded to death by sin, 
are made whole. “ He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he opened 
not his mouth ; he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a 
sheep before her shearer is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.” 
No other than Jesus has borne our griefs — no other was ever 
wounded for our transgressions. “The Lamb of God” went 
meekly to the slaughter for us. This prophecy, then, plainly 
points out the suffering Jesus, and all the manner, and end, and 
design of his sufferings ; and those who love Jesus, love to medi- 
tate upon it with the greatest delight, because it shows them his 
love in saving sinners. Yet, at the same time, they must be 
affected with sorrow in reading it, to think how the sins of man 
caused the Redeemer to suffer. 

Isaiah lived seven hundred and seventy years before Christ, of 
whom he so particularly wrote. Our Lord greatly honoured this 
prophet by preaching his first sermon out of this prophecy. 

2. JEREMIAH lived nearer the time of which he prophesied 
than did Isaiah. He saw the approaching decline of his country, 
and wept over it, while, as God taught him, he warned the peo- 
ple, and urged them to repent. He lived to see what he threat- 
ened come to pass — the destruction of the city and temple of Je- 
rusalem, and the captivity in Babylon. He was persecuted very 
much for his faithful prophecies, and he was contradicted, as if he 
had been a false prophet. As a sign of the bringing of the people 
under the dominion of Nebuchadnezzar, Jeremiah wore a yoke 
around his neck. This yoke a false prophet named Hananiah tore 
off, and broke it, and prophesied of the speedy restoration of the 



Jews from their captivity. For this act God instructed Jeremiah 
to pronounce his speedy death, and Hananiah died the same 
year. 

After the princes and people were carried away captive with 
Jecor.iah, Jeremiah wrote to them to comfort them ; and he told 
them that, in seventy years’ time, they should be restored, if they 
repented and turned unto God, and, till that time, they ought to 
submit themselves to God’s decree, and make themselves as con- 
tented as they could in their captivity ; for it is, indeed, of no use 
to fight against God. Jeremiah also told them, how God would 
punish all the false prophets who should spring up among them 
in Babylon, and prophesy their more speedy delivery. 

This prophet used signs as well as words. He not only wore a 
yoke to show the captivity of his people, but he took an earthen 
vessel and broke it before the priests and elders of the people, as 
a token of the breaking to pieces of the city and government of 
Jerusalem ; and he said, “ Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Even so 
will 1 break this people and this city, as one breaketh a potter’s 
vessel that cannot be made whole again.” And he told the people 
that, because they had burned incense to false gods, and shed the 
blood of innocents — of young children and poor babes whom they 
had offered in their cruel sacrifices — and “ built high places of 
Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt-offerings unto Baal,” 
he would “ cause the people to fall by the sword, and make their 
city desolate and a hissing,” or despised and hissed at ; and he 
would cause the people who had burned their sons and daughters, 
in their own cruel pleasure, even to eat their flesh, when it should 
be against their will, when they should be starved by being be- 
sieged and unable to get any other food, on account of the vigi- 
lance of their enemies. When Jerusalem was taken by the 
Chaldeans, this threatening came to pass; but it was most dread- 
fully fulfilled when it was finally taken by the Romans, some 
time after the restoration by Cyrus, and a woman was detected 
eating her own son. 

See what dreadful punishment the Jews brought upon them- 
selves by their wickedness ; and fear to offend against a God who 
hates all kinds of sin. 







794 child’s commentator. 

Pashur, who was a son of one of the priests, was so enraged at 
Jeremiah for prophesying such punishments for wicked Judah, 
that he smote him, and put him into the stocks. 

When Nebuchadnezzar was besieging Jerusalem, Jeremiah was 
imprisoned. When the siege was suspended, and Nebuchadnezzar 
had retired, Jeremiah was released ; but he foretold that Nebu- 
chadnezzar would return, and burn the city to ashes. At this 
time he tried to escape from Jerusalem, but he was discovered by 
an officer as he was going out of one of the gates, and was again 
thrown into prison, till the king ordered him to be set at liberty. 

Nebuchadnezzar did return ; and as the chief men of the city 
thought that Jeremiah’s prophecies discouraged the people, they 
got leave from Zedekiah to cast him once more into prison ; and 
they let him down with ropes, into a muddy well, where he must 
soon have perished, if God had not inclined the heart of Zedekiah . 
to release him ; and he was kept prisoner in the palace till Jeru- j| 
salem was taken. • |i 

A little before this last fatal event, Zedekiah asked Jeremiah Jjj 
what he should do. And Jeremiah, being instructed of the Lord, faj 
told him to give himself up to Nebuchadnezzar, and it would be | 
better for him, and his family, and for the safety of the city ; but, ] 
if he persisted in opposing the Chaldeans, he and his family would \f 1 
be ruined, and the city wholly destroyed. 

Zedekiah now respected the prophet, yet did not quite like his 
advice, and so following his own counsel, instead of believing the 
word of the Lord by Jeremiah, he tried to escape from Jerusa- 
lem by night, but was pursued by the Chaldeans, and, being 
taken, his sons and nobles were put to death, his own eyes wore 
put out, he was carried to Babylon bound in chains, and the city 
was burned. 

Jeremiah was taken among the captives, but, by order of Ne- 
buchadnezzar, he was set free, and had the choice of going to 
Babylon or staying in Judea. Jeremiah chose to stay in his coun- 
try. Here he was quiet till the rebellion against Gedaliah, Ne- 
buchadnezzar’s officer. When Jeremiah was then consulted whe- 
ther it would be safest to stay in Judea or escape into Egypt, the 
prophet advised the people to stay. They, however, thought pro- 




per to refuse his advice, and even obliged him to go with them. 

Here he prophesied also against the King of Egypt. 

Though Babylon was now in all its glory, yet the prophets 
Isaiah and Jeremiah both foretold its future destruction. It was 
impossible for any human being — unless God taught him — to 
foretel that so mighty a city and strong a power, should at last 
perish and come to nothing. Yet such is now the condition of 
Babylon. Its very name is perished, except in history, which 
informs us that it was, and that it is not. 

In the thirteenth and fourteenth chapters of Isaiah, and in the 
fiftieth and fifty-first chapters of Jeremiah, you will read prophe- 
cies of Babylon, “ the glory of kingdoms,” that it should never 
more be inhabited — that wild beasts should dwell there — that it 
should be a dry land and a desert — and much more of the same 
and now, for seventeen hundred years, it has been nothing but a 
heap of ruins. Its canals are all dried up; fragments of bricks 
and tiles, which once formed its splendid buildings, are all that 
remain of their grandeur. Major Keppel, a noted traveller, who 
visited the spot in 1825, was struck with the wonderful truth of !' 

the descriptions given of its desolation by Isaiah and Jeremiah, so 1 

exactly have they described all that has happened to Babylon. ij 

Mr. Layard aud other travellers confirm his testimony. There \ 

are many dens of wild beasts in various parts about the place, 
and it is the unmolested retreat of jackals, hyenas, and other nox- 
ious animals. The majestic river Euphrates still flows on, the 
willows grow on the banks, on which the Israelitish captives hung 
their harps ; but the city, and the palaces, and the fields, and gar- 
dens, which once adorned it, have for ever disappeared ! So at 
last shall the earth, and all the works that are in it, be burnt up, 
on account of the sinfulness of its inhabitants; for “ every word 
of God is true.” 


The LAMENTATIONS of Jeremiah are closely connected 
witn his prophecies, and seem to have been written after the de- 
struction of Jerusalem, and with a design to bring the people to 




796 child’s commentator. 

a st ate of repentance on account of their sins, which had been the 
cause of their desolate condition. 




ii 


3. EZEKIEL was of the race of the priests. He was carried 
away captive into Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, with Jehoiachin, 
king of Judah, of whom you have read at the end of the reigns of 
the kings. He prophesied twenty years. Ezekiel, as well as 
Isaiah and Jeremiah, prophesied of the destruction of Jerusalem, 
and also signified it by various signs, one of which was the cutting 
otfhis hair, which he divided into three parts; one part he burn- 
ed, another he cut in pieces with a sword, and a third he scatter- 
ed to the wind. 

Ezekiel also foretold the ruin of many nations and cities which 
had been enemies to the people of God, and were base idolaters,- 
pronouncing the doom of the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Edo- 
mites, and Philistines ; and of Tyre, Sidon, and Egypt. 

Let us just notice, in particular, Tyre and Egypt. 

Tyre was the most celebrated city of Phenicia. No city in the 
world equalled it for commerce. There were, however, two Tyres, 
both of which are included in the same name, and both of which 
met with the same ruinous end. One of these was connected with 
the main land. It appears to have been a rocky and strong little 
island closely adjoining it. It held out thirteen years against 
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, before he could take it; and, 
when he had got possession of it, he found nothing but the bare 
walls, for the inhabitants had removed to their new Tyre. Some 
time after, Alexander the Great conquered this ; and, being en- 
raged at the difficulty of getting at it, he planned a singular scheme 
to accomplish his purpose. The remains of the old Tyre, as left 
by Nebuchadnezzar, two hundred and forty years before, were 
employed to make a pathway to the new Tyre, which was half a 
mile from the shore. The difficulty in doing this was great; but 
Alexander accomplished it; and having taken the wealthy city, 
he so completely destroyed it, that the exact spot on which it 
stood is now unknown. Now, but ten or a dozen inhabitants are 


there to be seen, and these are only poor fishermen. 


1 


child’s commentator. 


797 


These events were exactly foretold by the prophet Ezekiel. In 
the twenty-sixth chapter he predicts the attack by Nebuchadrez- 
zar, or Nebuchadnezzar, thus describing him by name, as Isaiah 
did Cyrus, and he tells of all that he should do ; adding, in the 
words of the Lord, “ I will make thee like the top of a rock : 
thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon ; thou shalt be built no 
more ; for I the Lord have spoken it, saith the Lord God.” The 
two chapters which follow also describe the ruin of Tyre in a 
most remarkable manner. Has not God then declared, “ from 
ancient times, the things that” were “not yet done?” What a 
proof that the Bible is the word of God ! O, let us read it with 
care, and humbly pray God to make us understand all that re- 
lates to our souls and our Saviour, that so we may be “ wise unto 
salvation, through faith that is in Christ Jesus !” 

Let us now make our remarks on Egypt. Egypt was once a 
mighty nation. No nation was more learned and skilled in arts. 
Some of its monuments even remain to this day, and its huge 
pyramids are the wonders of the world. There are three of them, 
in particular, which attract notice. They are supposed to have 
been the tombs of some kings. The largest of these is a great deal 
higher than St. Paul’s cathedral, and is reckoned to have been 
built with six millions of tons of stone ! — a quantity large enough 
to build a wall completely round the whole of France, which 
should be twice the height of a man, and a foot broad ; which is 
no short distance, for France contains above two hundred thou- 
sand square miles of land ! The Egyptians had many grand cities, 
and had made great conquests in neighbouring countries. 

But Ezekiel, in the words of the Lord, prophesied of this na- 
tion, which had made Israel slaves, and been a great foe to the 
people of God, “It shall be the basest of the kingdoms, neither 
shall it exalt itself any more above the nations ; for I will dimin- 
ish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations.” 

This has come to pass. The Egyptians are the most enslaved 
of people. Tyrants rule over them. There are a very few men 
who are great, and all the rest are miserably poor, and ignorant, 
and wretched, and subject to the most cruel and oppressive lords. 
The ruins of splendid temples and palaces yet remain, but nothing 


30 



798 



child’s commentator. 

Dut mud-walled cottages surround them. At this moment there 
• is a ruler who has gained some power ; but Egypt is still among 
the basest of the nations. It was two thousand four hundred 
years ago, when the prophet foretold what it should be, and when 
it was most unlike what it now is. Who taught Ezekiel to de- 
scribe its present condition twenty-five hundred years ago, when 
it was prosperous and powerful? The answer must be — God,tc 
whom there is none like, “ declaring the end from the beginning, 
and from ancient times the things that are not yet done.” 

But let us now proceed to the next prophecy. 




4. DANIEL. — Daniel was one of the captives carried away 
into Babylon with Jehoiachin, as you read at the end of the 
Books of Kings. He was one of the royal blood of Judah. 

Daniel prophesied, in a remarkable manner, of the ruin of the 
four great monarchies of the world, even before they had all 
risen to power : that is, the Babylonian ; the Medes and Persians 
— which were united in Cyrus, his father being a Persian and his j ' \ 

mother a Mede, and to whom, after his uncle’s death, the whole |[ 

monarchy fell by right ; the Macedonian, or Grecian ; and the 1 

Roman. These arose to greatness one after the other, and each f 

new one swallowed up the old. The Babylonians were destroyed 
by the Medes and Persians ; the Medes and Persians by the 
Greeks ; and the Greeks by the Romans. 

This explanation describes an image which Nebuchadnezzar 
saw in a dream, and which was a prophecy of what should hap- 
pen in the kingdoms of the world, till the kingdom of the Mes- 
siah, or Christ, should be set up in the world, and he should reign 
over the hearts of men. 

The interpretation of this dream brought Daniel into great 
honour and notice in the Babylonian court. God made the Baby- 
lonian king to dream of these extraordinary things to bring 
about his great designs. 

We often forget a dream after we have dreamed it, and yet 
we just recollect that it was about something very remarkable. 
Nebuchadnezzar, after he had had this dream, forgot the particulars 




DANIEL AND THE HEBREW YOUTH 



DANIEL AND HIS COMPANIONS BEFORE NEBUCHADNEZZAR. 










child’s commentatok. 801 

of it. Yet his mind was very uneasy about what it could mean, 
for he recollected it was something very wonderful. There were 
men in his court who got their living by pretending to know such 
things ; these were called magicians, astrologers, and sorcerers, oi 
whom you have before read. They immediately told the king they 
could soon explain his dream, if he would tell them what it was. 
Nebuchadnezzar now wisely detected them, and reasoned that if 
they could explain the dream, they could of course find it out 
also ; and he told them that, if they did not, he would have them 
cut in pieces as a set of impostors, and their houses should be 
pulled down and turned into dunghills. On the contrary, if they 
told the dream, he could believe their ability to tell what it meant, 
and they should have riches and honours for their reward. 

It was in vain the wise men replied, that the task given them 
i by the king was beyond the art of man ; the king was enraged, 

j either that they had deceived him by their false pretences, or, 

| if he supposed they could reveal the matter, that they obsti- 

! £ nately refused to explain it to him. He, therefore, kept his word, 

and ordered the wise men to be slain. As Daniel and his Jewish 
companions at court had the reputation of being wise, and as 
they were probably envied for their greatness, being only cap- 
tive Jews, the king’s officers took this opportunity to seek after 
them, that they might be killed also. 

Daniel, on hearing of the decree, and inquiring into the cause, 
told the captain of the king’s guard, that the king was too hasty ; 
and he and the captain went to the king, and told him that if he 
would give him only a little time, he would show the whole 
dream to him, and all that it meant. Such was Daniel’s trust in 
God, that he ventured to promise the king, on the full belief that 
when he asked for wisdom from God, to make out the difficulty, 
God would reveal it. 

Daniel then went to his house, and he told his companions what 
had happened, and begged Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, to aid 
him by their prayers, so that he might have the help of God in 
the matter, and that they might not all perish with the wise men. 

God heard their prayers, and made known the dream and its 
meaning to Daniel, while he was asleep. And Daniel blessed 




802 child’s commentator. 

God for hearing and teaching him. So ought we ever to praise 
God with new earnestness, whenever he bestows upon us new 
favours. 

Then Daniel went into the king, and explained all that he 
wanted to know. When Daniel related the dream, then the king 
remembered it, and he believed Daniel’s explanation. And he 
made Daniel ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief 
of the wise men. 

You must remember that the Babylonians were idol worship 
pers; and Nebuchadnezzar in his pride set up a very fine image 
of gold for the people to worship. This image, from the descrip- 
tion given of it, must have been fifteen times larger than a man. 
So the king commanded all the great men every where through- 
out the provinces of his vast dominions to assemble together at a 
certain time ; and he made proclamation by a herald, that, at a 
certain signal made by his bands of music, every one should fall 
down and worship this golden image. The command was obey- 
ed, and men of all nations and languages who had been brought 
under his dominion, fell down before the idol : for, if any refused 
so to do, they were to be cast into a burning fiery furnace for 
their disobedience. 

Now Daniel and his three companions, Hananiah, Mishael, and 
Azariah, being Jews placed in situations of eminence, were likely 
to be sufferers by the king’s decree, for, being sincere followers of 
the true God, they would not worship a dumb idol. Daniel, how- 
ever, escaped at this time ; he was either too much in favour for 
any to venture to accuse him, or else he was engaged at a dis- 
tance on business of sufficient importance to excuse his absence. 
Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, could not escape, and they at- 
tended with the rest, in obedience to the king’s orders ; but, 
when the multitude fell down before the idol, they did not. 

Some of the Chaldeans, who were jealous of the honours of 
these men who were exalted with Daniel, went and told the king, 
that the Jews, whom he had exalted, had not regarded him. This 
was so told, as to make their disobedience appear worse, after 
the rank he had conferred upon them. 

Then Nebuchadnezzar sent in a rage for these men, and asked 



child’s commentator. 803 


them, “ Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego ; do not 
ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have 
set up ?” You w r ill observe here, that the king does not call them 
by the names we saw before, but by three other names : for, 
when he bestowed honours upon them, he gave them new names, 
as Pharaoh did to Joseph, and as you remember to have been 
told was usually done by Eastern princes when they dignified 
any persons. This custom still exists in all Eastern countries, 
and, when a man is honored by any of the kings, he at once re- 
ceives a new name, usually significant of the circumstances of 
his promotion. The same thing is done in Europe when a 
man is raised to the peerage. Daniel had also the same 
honour granted to him with his companions, and was called Belte- 
shazzar. Daniel will, however, be always mentioned in his old 
. Jewish name, by which he is best known, but the others, in the 

| rest of this sacred story, by their Chaldee names, as the story 

1 drops their Jewish ones. 

A Nebuchadnezzar now told Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, 
7i that he would give them another trial, and ordered the ceremony 
to take place again ; and that if they then persisted in their re- 
fusal to worship his fine image, they should be burned to death 
that very hour ; and then he haughtily dared to say, “ Who is 
that God that shall deliver you out of my hands These men 
truly loved God, and so they feared him above Nebuchadnezzar. 
And they told the king that they would not serve his God, and 
that if he chose to cast them into the furnace, their God was able 
to save them. 

Nebuchadnezzar’s pride was now mortified, and in his fury he 
desired the furnace, to be made as hot «,s it was possible to make 
it. Then he had the three good men bound hand and foot, and 
cast into the blazing furnace. The men who cast them in, might 
perhaps be their great enemies who had accused them, and were 
forward to make an end of them ; but they scarcely saw them in 
the furnace, for they instantly perished, with only the heat of the 
flames proceeding from it, before they had time to draw back. 

In a few moments Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, were 
observed by the king walking in the midst of the furnace, quite 




804 child’s commentator. 

unhurt. A fourth person was walking with them, whom he sup- 
posed — perhaps from some particular appearance — to be a divine 
person, and he called him — perhaps being convinced by a divine 
light of the mind just at the moment — by the name of the Son of 
God, or an angel of God. 

Immediately this lion was changed into a lamb ; and he went 
nearer to the furnace, and spoke to the three persecuted men, 
“ and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ye servants of the 
Most High God, come forth and come hither.” So they came out 
of the furnace, before all the rulers and people, without one sin- 
gle injury either to their clothes, or even a hair of their heads ! 

Nebuchadnezzar was then sure that the God of the Jews was 
the true God ; and he made a decree, that if the people did not 
in future serve the true God, they should all be cut in pieces. 

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, were also raised by the 
king to greater power, so that what their enemies, and the enemies 
of God had desired, not only failed, but turned out for their 
good, and that of their people, who would no more be in danger 
of insult and suffering on account of their holy religion. 

In the fourth chapter of this prophecy, we find a remarkable 
proclamation or letter sent by Nebuchadnezzar to all his subjects 
in all the provinces under his dominion. He mentions a wonder- 
ful dream which he had, and which greatly alarmed him. So he 
sent for his wise men, who showed themselves to be as foolish as 
they were before; for, though he told them the dream, they 
could not even contrive any thing like an explanation. Then he 
recollected Daniel, and sent for him. It is not unlikely that he 
was not sent for at first, on account of his being at some distance 
looking after his public duties. Then he told him his dream, 
about seeing a tall, strong, beautiful, fruitful, and shady tree, and 
that he saw one descend from heaven and order the tree to be 
cut down ; but the stump was to be spared, and to be wet with 
the dew of heaven, and there it was to remain with the beasts of 
the field. And this tree had got a man’s heart, which was to be 
changed into that of a beast. 

Daniel then told the king, that the tall and strong tree, with 




. child’s commentator. 805 

spreading branches, was a sign of himself, who had become a 
great and mighty king, and ruled over many people and nations. 
That the cutting down of the tree showed how God would hum- 
ble him ; and its being wet with the dew, and the stump remain- 
ing with the beasts, was to point out that he should dwell under 
the dew of heaven among the beasts of the field, where he should 
eat grass like the oxen. 

Twelve months after this, as he was walking about his palace, 
and most likely on its roof, he looked proudly over his grand 

city, and he said to himself, “Is not this great Babylon, that I 
have built 1” And he thought more of his own pomp and glory 
than he did of Almighty God, the King of kings. Then a voice 
from heaven spoke to him, “ O King Nebuchadnezzar, the king- 
dom is departed from thee ! And they shall drive thee from men, 
i and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field ; they shall 

[ make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over 

j k thee, until thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom 
;s| of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. The same hour 
1 was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar; and he was driven 
from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with 
the dew of heaven, till his hairs w r ere grown like eagle’s feathers, 
and his nails like bird’s claws.” 

He seems to have been seized with a wonderful kind of mad- 
ness, and to have rushed out into the fields and woods, and there 
to have lived among the beasts ; and so he remained till God 
chose to restore him, when he related to his people his restora- 
tion, and all that had happened to him. 

This madness brought him to his right mind, from which we 
may hope he never turned back ; and he who was once so proud 
and lordly says, “ Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, and extol, and 
honour the King of Heaven, all whose works are truth, and his 
ways judgment ; and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.” 

This account shows us how God hates pride, and how easy it is 
for him, when he pleases, to make the proudest humble. 

This prophecy is very interesting, for in the next chapter we 
have an account of one of Nebuchadnezzar’s successors. He was 



806 


child’s commentator. 


not, indeed, the king that reigned directly after him, for there 
were three others before this Belshazzar came to the throne, as 
we learn from some very old historians ; but these three had very 
short reigns of two years, four years, and nine months. The first 
was the son of Nebuchadnezzar, and was called Evil-Merodach, 
and the other two were usurpers. Belshazzar was of the lawful 
line, and was grandson of Nebuchadnezzar. 

This was the last king of Babylon : and we learn how he lost 
it. He made a great feast, and, being a despiser of the true God, 
he sent for the sacred vessels which Nebuchadnezzar had taken 
from the temple at Jerusalem; and, with his princes, wives, and 
concubines, he drank to the honour of his “gods of gold and of 
silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.” 

Cyrus was at this time besieging the city ; but the gates and 
walls being strong, with plenty of water all round it. and there 
being provision enough for twenty years within it, Belshazzar did 
not suppose it possible that it could be taken ; so he enjoyed him- 
self in his profane doings, and was getting drunk out of the Jew- 
ish vessels which had been consecrated to the service of the true 
God. 

In the midst of his mirth and cups, he suddenly saw a hand 
which was writing upon a wall on which he cast his eye. He was 
struck with astonishment and dread. It was marvellous. But 
what could the secret words mean which the wonderful hand 
wrote? Why was he frightened? Why should he not have 
supposed that the hand was writing something good for him — 
some news about the destruction of his enemy, or some advice 
how to defeat them ? No, my young reader, not so. We say, 

“ A guilty conscience needs no accuser.” So it was with this king. 
He felt he was doing something that was bad, and he now dread- 
ed to know what was to happen to him. He changed colour, was 
distressed in his mind, and he trembled so violently that his knees 
“ even smote one against another.” 

He cried aloud to bring the wise men ; he was so much in hast® 
that he would not send for them in the usual quiet way. They 
came, but they could not read the writing. He and his lords were 
then more alarmed. The queen, who was not at the feast, having 


child’s commentator. 


807 




soon heard of the wonderful event, hastened directly to the king, 
and told him that Daniel could make out the writing, for he had 
shown such skill in the days of Nebuchadnezzar that he had made 
him master of the wise men. 



The king lost no time in sending for Daniel ; and when he 
came in, he offered him rewards if he would explain the writing ; 
but Daniel refused the rewards, and began to explain the secret 
words. 

He faithfully told the king of all that had happened to his 
grandfather Nebuchadnezzar ; that he had not learned wisdom by 
his grandfather’s misfortunes, but had also lifted up his rebellious 
heart against 44 the Lord of Heaven,’ .and had abused the vessels 



808 


child's commentator. 


of the temple, and insulted the God by whose power he drew every 
breath he breathed. Then he explained the words which were 
written on the wall, “ Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin,” — that God 
had ended his kingdom, and given it to the Medes and Persians. 

Belshazzar, instead of being enraged at such a threat, felt con- 
scious that he had displeased the Almighty God, and that Daniel 
had spoken the truth ; and though Daniel had refused the reward, 
he bestowed the last honour upon him ; and at his command 
“ they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about 
his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should 
be the third ruler in the kingdom.” 

That very night the city was taken by Darius the Mede, who 
was besieging it along with Cyrus his nephew, and Belshazzar 
was slain. Thus fell Babylon, the scourge of Judah, as God had 
foretold by his prophets. 

Darius the Mede having, by conquest, come into possession of 
the empire of Babylon, found it necessary to place no less than 
“ a hundred and twenty princes” in the different districts, that 
they might keep the people in order, and procure the king’s taxes. 
That these princes might not cheat him nor oppress the peo- 
ple, he also appointed three great men to preside over them, and 
see that they all did their duty. Of these three presidents, 
Daniel was the first. The king saw that he was a man of “ an 
excellent spirit,” honest, and faithful ; and he, therefore, pro 
moted him to the highest rank. 

Perhaps the integrity of Daniel, who would not countenance 
those who were under him in doing wrong, as well as his eminence 
in being placed over so many others, had made the princes dislike 
him ; they could have no other reason for trying to do him injury. 
So they laid their heads together to find some fault in him ; but 
he was so wise and prudent, that they could accuse him of nothing. 
He was, however, known to be very strict in worshipping his God, 
and here they contrived a plan to do him harm. They agreed to 
make a law, that no one should petition any God or man for thirty 
days, save the king Darius : him only they might petition ; and if 
any one should break that law, he should be cast into a den of 


child’s commentator. 


809 


lions, to be torn to pieces and devoured by them. The proud 
monarch took this for a great compliment, and signed the decree, 
by which it became an unchangeable law. 

Now Daniel was accustomed to pray three times a day, with 
his window r open and his face toward Jerusalem, according to Sol- 
omon’s prayer to God at the dedication of the temple, that if his 
people should be made captives, and should pray from the land 
of their captivity with their eyes towards Jerusalem, where God 
had built his house, that then he would hear and maintain their 
cause. So he did not mind the king’s decree, but opened his 
window and prayed as usual : he might, certainly, have done so 
in a less public manner ; but, as he had been seen before, he would 
not show signs of fear, or dishonour his God by having it sup- 
posed that he had given up praying. 

Daniel’s enemies being on the watch to catch him, soon inform- 
ed the king that he had broken the law ; and, as the king himself 
could not reverse the sentence, he with great regret and anxiety 
was obliged to deliver Daniel up to the lions. Now he saw that 
he was entrapped by the other princes, and that it was their de- 
sign to ruin Daniel. However, he spoke to the prophet in the 
kindest manner, so as to prove that he did not in his heart blame 
him for worshipping his God, and he told him, “Thy God, whom 
thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.” 

The sentence having been executed, Darius went to his palace 
and fasted all night, and refused to hear any of his bands play 
their music, and was so restless that he could get no sleep. 

Early in the morning, he arose and went to the den, and asked 
Daniel if his God had preserved him ; when, finding him quite 
safe among tho wild beasts, he gladly ordered him to be released, 
the law having had its course, though Daniel was not killed. 
Then, as a punishment for those who had plotted to take away the 
innocent life of one of his most trusty servants, he ordered his 
accusers to be brought and to be cast into the den, “ and their 
children and their wives” were cast in with them- -for very likely 
they had also been busy in the plot ; if they had not, this com- 
mand of Darius was very cruel and unjust. They had not Daniel’s 
God to protect them, for they had never sought his favour and 





810 child’s commentator. 

protection : and so, before they had even got properly into the 
den, the hungry animals seized them, and tore them to pieces. 


Daniel now prospered more than ever ; and Darius published 
a decree, commanding all his subjects to honour Daniel’s God. 

Daniel was privileged with some extraordinary visions, show- 
ing what was to happen in Persia after Cyrus, and various other 
important events which should take place among the great nations 
of the world. 

But prior to this, having read in Jeremiah that God would 
restore his people after seventy years’ captivity, he prayed most 
earnestly and charmingly, for the happiness of his nation in the 
coming restoration. His prayer is in the ninth chapter of his 
prophecy. 

God was so pleased with his pious servant, that he sent the 


TNTTCRPRRTTNTft THR WRTTTNa 



liiiiiipiw 




DESOLATION OP BABYLON 






child’s commentator. 


813 


Angel Gabriel to show him yet more interesting events which 
should happen, even the death and sacrifice of the Messiah, or 
Jesus Christ, which should take place after seventy prophetic 
weeks. The language of prophecy being secret, a year was called 
a day, and seven years a week. Seventy of these weeks made 
seventy times seven years. This number of years, by the rule of 
multiplication, make four hundred and ninety. At the end of 
that time the Messiah was cut off ; or, in other words, the anoint- 
ed Christ, our Lord Jesus, died for the sins of his people, as 
Daniel had foretold. 


THE TWELVE MINOR PROPHETS. 

1. HOSEA prophesied about eight hundred years before 
Christ. He executed his office sixty years. He foretold the cap- 
tivity and dispersion of the kingdom of Israel, the present state 
of the Jews, and other important events. His prophecies were 
bold and terrible against transgressors. 

2. JOEL prophesied against the sins of Judah, and foretold 
the Chaldean invasion, the total destruction of J erusalem by the 
Romans, and the glorious state of the Christian Church in the end 
of the world. Indeed, the latter was foreseen by most of the pro- 
phets who gave witness to Jesus Christ. 

3. AMOS was a herdsman. From this situation God called 
him to be a prophet. He pronounced the divine judgment against 
the Syrians, Tyrians, Edomites, Ammonites, and Moabites, all 
of which came to pass. 

4. OBADIAH is the shortest of all the books of the Old Tes- 
tament, containing only twenty-one verses. The main subject of 
this prophecy, is the punishment of the Edomites for their bad 
conduct towards the Jews ; and, like the other prophecies, it con- 
tains some gracious promises to the people of God. The fulfil 


814 



child’s commentator. 

ment of Obadiah’s prophecy would afford us amusement as well 
as instruction ; but my plan will not admit of any more enlarge- 
ment, lest I should make my work tedious. 


5. JONAH. — Some consider Jonah as the most ancient of the 
prophets. His history is very interesting. He tells us that God 
commanded him to go to Nineveh and preach to the inhabitants 
of that city, which was the capital of the Assyrian empire ; that, 
instead of going there, he so disliked to deliver his message, that 
he took a ship and sailed far away for another place, which was a 
sad piece of folly, and he suffered, as all will more or less, for his 
disobedience to God. On his way to Tarshish, a tempest sprung 
up, and the mariners threw everything overboard to save their 
lives. Still the ship was in danger, and Jonah all this time was 
fast asleep, when they summoned him to awake. They then 
thought that they would cast lots, and see if they would point out 
any one in the ship who had displeased God. This thought was 
doubtless directed by God himself, 'that Jonah might be detected 






CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


And punished. “.The lot fell upon Jonah.” Jonah then told who 
he was, and confessed what he had done : that he had run away 
from delivering God’s message. The mariners were shocked, and 
they asked what they should do to him. He felt humbled for his 
sin ; and not wishing that they should perish with him, he 
desired them to cast him into the sea, and the sea would then be 
calm. These men, seeing that the God of Israel was the true 
God, then prayed God to forgive them for throwing Jonah over- 
board, for it was not their wish to commit murder. Then they 
cast Jonah into the sea, and it “ceased raging,” and they, with 
becoming gratitude, offered up sacrifice to God. Let us, like them, 
never forget the goodness of God in preserving us from extreme 
dangers. 

Jonah having been thrown overboard did not perish, for we are 
told that “ the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow” him up, 
and he remained in his belly three days and three nights. This fish 
is, in our New Testament, called a whale ; but it might there also 
be called in the English ‘ a great fish for you must remember, 
that the Old Testament, was written in Hebrew, and the New in 
Greek, and that the English is only a translation. I mention this, 
first, to show you why, in the Old Testament, it is called by one 
name, and in the New Testament by another — because, those who 
turned each into English, made this difference, but the meaning is 
the same in both the original Scriptures. And, further, I men 
tion this, because some have objected that a whale’s throat was not 
wide enough to swallow a man, and therefore a whale could not 
have swallowed Jonah; to whom it maybe replied, but “a great 
fish” could have done it, and this is what the Scripture says swal- 
lowed Jonah up. Now, there are, most likely, many great fish in 
the wide sea which have not yet been discovered among its many 
millions of inhabitants ; even if we did not know of any which 
could swallow up a man. It is well known, however, that some 
kinds of sharks, which are a very greedy fish, have throats 
capacious enough to swallow a large man, and that even 
whole men have been found in these sharks bellies. But it is 
admitted that the names of creatures are rather perplexing in the 
Hebrew, from which I have told you the Old Testament is ren- 


GY® 



81 t) child’s commentator. 

dered into English, and some have supposed that no sort of fish is 
meant, but only a boat called by a like name with a great fish, and 
that Providence caused this boat to drift past the ship just as 
Jonah was thrown out, and so he remained preserved in it, tossed 
about in the midst of the great ocean three days and three nights, 
till the waves threw the boat on shore. You may hear of this, 
and so I mention it. The truth of the story, however, remains, 
which amounts to this, — that Jonah having been disobedient to 
God, God punished him for his disobedience ; and yet he wonder- 
fully preserved him when there appeared to be no hope but that 
he must perish. And, as for the great fish swallowing him up, we 
know that God, who made the fish, could make it do as he pleased ; 
and that God who made the prophet could as well preserve him in 
the fish as create him ; and could as well restore him from the 
fish, as he can raise up the dead body from the grave. 

Jonah was now commanded a second time, to go to the great 
city of Nineveh, and preach what God told him. So Jonah went ; 
and he cried, as he passed along in the city, “ Yet forty days, and 
Nineveh shall be overthrown !” i s 

When the people heard Jonah they believed he was a messenger 1 
from God; and they repented, and fasted, and turned from their 
wicked ways, and God spared them. O, how rich is God in mercy ! | 

It is thus he will spare and have mercy upon all those who sin- 
cerely repent, and unfeignedly believe his holy gospel. He is 
not willing that any should perish. Sinners always perish by 
their own obstinacy ; but as they deserve to perish, they can only 
be saved by God’s mercy and grace, who, when they repent, is 
ready to pardon them. 

Jonah, instead of being delighted that the people believed his 
message, and that the city was spared, was mortified that his pro- 
phecy had not come to pass ; but God never intended it should, 
if the people repented. All the dreadful threatenings in his word 
imply a want of repentance in sinners, before they will be exe- 
cuted. 

How much more tender-hearted is God than man ! Even this 
prophet could have borne to see a whole city perish, rather chan 
his prophecy should fail. Surely, he ought rather to have been 




CHILD'S COMMENTATOR. 817 

glad that God had made him the means of bringing these sinners 
to repentance. So Jonah said to God, he knew how very merciful 
he was, and, as he supposed he would not destroy the whole city, 
he did not like to deliver his message ; that was the reason why 
he had run away ; and now, what he apprehended would be the 
case, had really come to pass. Indeed, the prophet was so vexed 
that he asked God to let him die. But God was also merciful to 
the prophet, and did not grant his rash request. On the contrary, 
he condescended to reason with his mind, and inquired of him, 
“ Doest thou well to be angry 

Jonah, however, still seemed to think that something might 
happen to the city ; so he went out of it, and made a booth on a 
spot where he could see Nineveh. A booth differed from a tent, 
being made, not of cloth, but only of branches of trees, something 
like our harbours in our gardens. In this situation, God was 
[/ also still kind to him, and he caused a gourd to spring up and 

1 cover Jonah’s booth; so that he was well protected in the day 

i from the burning sun, and at night from the cold. Jonah was 

pleased at this comfort ; but in the morning God caused a worm 
to destroy his gourd, and a strong warm wind drove the heat of 
the scorching sun full in Jonah’s face, so that he became quite 
faint; and he said, “It is better for me to die than to live.’' 
Then God blamed Jonah for feeling so much at the loss of his 
gourd, and yet he could not feel pained at the thoughts of 
Nineveh perishing, where there were not merely immense num- 
bers of grown-up persons, but a hundred and twenty thousand 
little infants, who could not possibly tell their right hand from 
their left, and who must have perished with their wicked parents. 

6. MICAH was a prophet of Judah. He confirmed the pre- 
dictions of Isaiah against the people of Israel and J udah. 

7. NAHUM denounced the judgments of God against Nineveh, 
which returned to its wickedness after the preaching of Jonah. 
Here I shall tell you a little more about Nineveh. This city, the 
capital of Assyria, stood on the banks of the river Tigris. It was 
very large, and contained, at least, six hundred thousand inhabi 




818 


CHILDS COMMENTATOR. 


tants. Ancient writers tell us, that its walls were a hundred feet 
high, sixty miles round, more than twice the size of New York — * 
and that it was defended by no less than fifteen hundred towers, 
from which the Assyrian warriors could command and drive off 
any enemies who should attempt to mount their walls. This 
famous city, notwithstanding its strength, was taken at several 
different times, and was entirely ruined in the time of Adrian, a 
Roman Emperor. It was afterwards rebuilt by the Persians ; but 
the new city was destroyed by the Saracens twelve or thirteen 
hundred years ago. No vestige of the ancient city now remains. 
So Nahum prophesied, and the word of the Lord has strictly been 
fulfilled. This prophet said, “ The Lord will make an utter end of 
the place thereof — she is empty ; void, and waste.” The fate of 
Nineveh, at last, should teach sinners not to trifle with God. He 
is merciful, but he is also just. The sinner who truly repents 
shall, without doubt, be saved, but he who returns to his wicked- 
ness and hardens himself, shall perish. 



8. HABAKKUK was one of the prophets employed to foretel 1 
the destruction of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans. 


9. ZEPHANIAH prophesied, not only against the wicked 
Jews, but also against the Philistines, Moabites, Ammonites, 
and Ethiopians. 

10. HAGGAI, by his prophecies, encouraged the rebuilding of 

the temple after the Jews had been restored by Cyrus, and the 
decree in their favour was renewed by Darius, as you read in Ezra 
and Nehemiah. 

11. ZECHARI AH’S prophecies also encouraged the Jews in 

the rebuilding of the temple. He has some remarkable prophecies 
respecting some minute particulars in the life of Jesus Christ, as 
his riding on a colt, the foal of an ass, and the price paid to Judas 
to betray him. 

12. MALA CHI was the last of the prophets of the Old Testa- 
ment. He was known as a prophet about a hundred and twenty 



child’s commentator. 


819 

years after the Jews returned from Babylon, and four hundred and 
twenty years before Christ. He prophesied of Christ, and of his 
herald John the Baptist, who should have the spirit and courage 
of Elijah ; representing Christ as a glorious sun, who should arise 
and shine upon the nations darkened by ignorance, with health 
in his beams. 


There is a small volume called the Apocrypha, meaning “ hid 
from,” because its contents were not published for reading gene- 
rally, like the Holy Scriptures. This book is sometimes bound 
up with the Bible, because it relates some things which happened 
between the time of Malachi and the coming of Christ. However, 
though it contains many interesting and even good things, it has 
no divine mark upon it. It exhibits no divinely prophetical charac- 
ter to foretel the state of the church and of the world, and to lead to 
Jesus Christ, who was to come into the world to save sinners; and 
it is not quoted, in any of its parts, by Christ or his apostles. 

With Malachi, the gift of prophecy under the old dispensation 
ceased, for John the Baptist was rather the immediate forerunner, 
than the prophetic preacher of Jesus. Four hundred years of 
history, from the time of Malachi to the coming of the Saviour into 
the world, must therefore be filled up from what is called ancient 
or profane history — called profane, not because it is wicked, but 
because it has no pretensions to be sacred like the Bible. 

Thus, by the good providence of God, I have brought my Com- 
mentary on the Old Testament to a close. I shall be happy if my 
labours have been the means of affording you amusement and 
instruction ; but much more so, if they have led you to love the 
holy word of God, and to trust in that blessed and divine Saviour 
to whom I have often referred as shadowed forth in the sacrifices 
of the ceremonial law, and foretold by the prophets; and on whose 
most interesting life, death, and sufferings, we hope more parti- 
cularly to dwell in some future thoughts on the New Testament, 


THE END OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, 


820 



child’s commentator. 


THE HISTORY OF THE JEWS, 

BETWEEN 

THE TIMES RECORDED IN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT. 




The Old Testament brings down the History of the Jews to the 
days of the prophet Malachi, and of Nehemiah, who was the last 
governor of that people sent from the court of Persia to J udea. 
The Persian Empire, you will recollect, succeeded the Babylonian 
Empire, and the king obtained the country of the Jews, who paid 
to the conquerors a yearly tribute. It is not certain how long 
Nehemiah lived, after he had reformed the affairs of the Jews. 
After his decease, the office of governor of the Jews appears to 
have been executed by the High Priest, under a Persian governor 
of all Syria. 

There were several High Priests in succession, from the time of 
Nehemiah, of whom it is not particularly necessary to make men- 
tion, but the time of the High Priest Jaddua is too important to 
pass it over in silence. Philip, king of Macedon, was at this period 
succeeded by his son, Alexander the Great, who had only just 
attained the twentieth year of his age. This prince took the com- 
mand of an army of Grecians to act against Persia, and crossing 
the Hellespont — a strait, or narrow part of the sea, between Europe 
and Asia — he passed into the latter country. This was about 
three hundred and thirty-four years before Christ. Alexander 
had with him thirty thousand foot soldiers, and five thousand 
horsemen. Darius met him in a few days, with an army five times 



JONAH CAST FORTH. 







TOMB OP JONAH 


m 







35RS 


child’s commentator. 


823 


larger ; but Alexander was a very skilful general, and he put to flight 
the larger army of his adversary, and overran a great portion 
of territory called Asia-Minor. During this time, Darius was not 
idle ; he prepared an army which threatened totally to destroy 
Alexander and all his forces. With this he marched to meet him 
in the following year. It consisted of no less than six hundred 
thousand men. With such a force, Darius should have engaged 
Alexander in the open plains, so that his men might have room 
to act ; but having incautiously engaged them in a part where his 
army was pent up, in such a way that he could only bring a few 
at a time into action, he was again totally defeated by the Greeks. 
Syria was now soon reduced to subjection under Alexander, and 
he then directed his course towards Judea. His approach was 
most alarming to the Jews, who had shown themselves particularly 
zealous in aiding those who resistedhim. On this account he was 
resolved to punish them severely. Jaddua, the High Priest, hear- 
ing of his approach, called upon the people to unite with him in 
sacrifices and prayer, that Gxod would avert the threatening cala- 
mity. Having humbled themselves before the Lord, they were 
directed what to do, by a remarkable dream of the High Priest. 
In this dream, God told Jaddua to go and meet Alexander in his 
priestly robes, followed by all the priests in their proper dresses, 
attended by a numerous body of the people, dressed in white gar- 
ments. Jaddua, therefore, ordered the gates of the city to be 
thrown open, and marched in solemn procession to an eminence 
which was near it. Alexander approached, and gazed with awe 
upon the High Priest in his splendid array, and his mitre with 
the name of God emblazoned on the front, the pure white dresses 
of the priests, and the solemn spectacle of the people ; and, instead 
of attempting to execute vengeance, he hastened forward and sa- 
luted the man of God with religious veneration. Parmenio, one 
of the king’s favourites, ventured to ask the reason of this unex- 
pected homage. Alexander is said to have replied that it was 
not offered to the priest, but to his God, in grateful acknowledg 
ment for a vision with which he had been favoured at Dio in 
Macedonia ; in which this very person, in this very habit, appear- 
ed to him, promising him the Empire of Persia. 








824 child’s commentator. 

Haying kindly embraced the High Priest, Alexander entered 
Jerusalem with him, and proceeded to the temple, where he of- 
fered up sacrifices to God. He was afterwards much delighted 
when Jaddua showed him the prophecy of Daniel, and pointed 
out the place in which the prophet foretold that the Persian Em- 
pire should be overthrown by a Grecian king. Alexander now 
felt confident of success, and fully persuaded that he was the per- 
son alluded to in the prophecies. 

Before his departure from Jerusalem, Alexander, at the request 
of Jaddua, granted the Jews the free exercise of their religion, 
and other valuable privileges. 

Soon after his visit to Jerusalem, Alexander conquered Egypt, 
and built the city of Alexandria, where multitudes of the Jews 
went and settled. 

Darius once more raised ‘an overwhelming army, amounting 
to one million one hundred thousand men ! The brave and more 
experienced troops of Alexander now again conquered, and, with 
the battle, the Persian Empire fell under the dominion of Greece. 
Yet the skill and bravery of Alexander and his troops had been 
nothing, if God had not, in his wisdom, determined to punish 
this mighty empire for its sins, and to bring it to an end ; for 
while wicked men contend at their pleasure with each other, it is 
under the direction and control of his providence that kingdoms 
rise and fall, flourish and decay. 

Darius survived the battle, but was forced to fly for his life, 
when he was treacherously killed by one of his officers named 
Bessus. 

Alexander did not long enjoy his conquests. He died, aged 
only thirty-two. All his family were murdered, and four of his 
generals shared the vast dominions of their royal master. One of 
the divided kingdoms was Egypt. This fell to the lot of Ptolemy 
Lagus, whc invaded Judea, and led a hundred thousand of its 
people captives into his country ; but as he treated them kindly, 
many were glad to follow their brethren, their own land having 
been brought into a very miserable condition, on account of the 
ruinous wars with which it had been troubled. 

Two hundred and ninety-two years before Christ, died Simon, 



CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


825 

called the Just, a distinguished High Priest of the Jews. Simon 
the Just is said to have carefully perused the manuscript books 
of the Old Testament ; and to have completed what is called the 
sacred Canon, by adding the Books of Chronicles, Ezra, Nehe- 
miah, Esther, and Malachi. 

In the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus, and about two hundred 
and eighty-four years before Christ, the Jews in Egypt, having 
forgotten the Hebrew language, obtained the privilege of having 
the sacred Scriptures translated from the Hebrew into the. Greek 
for their use, and a copy of them was placed in the royal library. 
This Greek translation obtained the name of the Septuagint , a 
Greek word, which was to intimate that it was translated by se- 
venty learned men employed for the purpose, though this number 
is not considered to be quite correct. By the circulation of the 
Greek translation, the word of God was laid open to vast numbers, 
who would never otherwise have enjoyed its perusal. And here 
it may be observed that this Greek translation was used by Christ 
and his apostles ; which accounts for some differences of expres- 
sion, which you will sometimes find between the same text in the 
Old Testament, and in the New. Different languages will not 
always admit of the same precise expression, and then, in turning 
one language into another, it is sometimes necessary to use another 
expression, which if it cannot be the same, is as near as possible 
to that of the original language. Thus, in turning the Hebrew 
into the Greek, some such changes must have occurred ; but none 
of them materially alter the sense of that which was first written, 
or are contradictions to it. And here we may see the wisdom of 
God in permitting the conquests of Alexander. The Greek em- 
pire thus becoming very extensive, that language was very gene- 
rally spoken ; and, in consequence, the Greek copy of the Scrip- 
tures might be as extensively read, not only by Jews but by hea- 
thens; and when the apostles afterwards began to preach the 
gospel, they could appeal to a book well-known, and open to all, 
to prove from its contents that Christ was the true Messiah — the 
divine person about whom the prophets foretold, that he was 
come into the world to die for sinners. 

The Jews now suffered much, with the neighbouring nations, 



826 child's commentatok. 


owing to the continued wars which were kept up by Alexander's 
successors. Antiochus, king of Syria, made war with Ptolemy 
Philopater, king of Egypt, about two hundred and eighteen years 
before Christ, and defeated the Egyptian forces. Ptolemy having 
regained the provinces which had been taken from Egypt, made 
a progress through them ; and, coming to Jerusalem, he offered 
a great number of victims, and made some valuable presents to 
the temple. But having been hindered from entering the holy of 
holies, or most holy place of all in the temple, by Simon, the 
High Priest at that time, he departed to Egypt full of rage against 
the Jews. On reaching that country, he instantly deprived the 
Jews of their privileges ; and, — not considering that punishment 
sufficient, — the cruel prince assembled multitudes of them together 
at Alexandria, that he might have them thrown among wild beasts 
to be devoured ; but ancient writings record, that the furious 
animals, instead of hurting the Jews, turned upon their persecutors. 
The son of Ptolemy Philopater, called Ptolemy Epiphanes, suc- 
ceeded his father, about two hundred and four years before Christ. 
Ptolemy Epiphanes, as he was called, was now but an infant ; and 
thinking that the poor child could not help himself, Antiochus 
united with Philip, king of Macedon, and agreed with him to 
seize upon, and go share in, the Egyptian dominion. They suc- 
ceeded in their object, so far as to conquer a large portion, in- 
cluding Palestine. The Jews willingly submitted to Antiochus, 
and rendered him such essential services, that he gave orders that 
their city should be repaired, and that those who had been dis- 
persed should remain and inhabit it ; and, among other import- 
ant favours, he conferred on them the privileges which had been 
granted by Alexander the Great. 

The Antiochus of whom we have just read having died, was 
succeeded by his son Seleucus Philopater, who, having reigned 
eleven years, was also succeeded by his brother Antiochus, gene- 
rally called Epiphanes, which signifies the illustrious , though by 
some more properly called Epimanes , or the madman. As his 
father, being subdued in part by the Romans, had left his domin- 
ions subject to a tribute to the Roman power, this Antiochus 
found it difficult to pay it ; and, among other schemes to raise 





827 



child's commentator. 


:i 4 


money, he profanely sold the office of High Priest to those who 
were profane enough to buy it. He first deposed the good and 
pious High Priest Onias, and sold the pontificate, or High Priest’s 
sacred office, to his brother Jason, for a large sum to be paid 
yearly; and then he deposed Jason, and sold it to his brother 
Menelaus for almost double the sum to be paid yearly. 

About this time Antiochus made war upon Egypt, and con- 
quered the whole kingdom. While he was in that country, a re- 
port was spread in Judea that he was dead, and Jason marched 
with a thousand men to recover the priesthood which he had 
basely bought ; and of which, on his brother becoming a better 
purchaser, he had been deprived. He succeeded in surprising the 
city of Jerusalem, drove Menelaus into the castle, and cruelly put 
to the sword, and to all other kinds of death, all those whom he 
considered to be his adversaries. Antiochus being informed of 
these events, hastened out of Egypt to quell the rebellion ; and 
being told that the inhabitants of Jerusalem had made great re- 
joicing at the news of his death, he was so provoked that, having 
stormed the city, he slew forty thousand persons, sold as many 
more for slaves, plundered the temple of gold and furniture, en- 
tered the holy of holies, and sacrificed a sow — a most unclean 
animal, forbidden in the sacrifices— on the altar of burnt-offering, 
and caused the broth of it to be sprinkled all over the temple. 
He then returned to Antioch, laden with the spoils both of Egypt 
and Judea, appointing one Philip, a most cruel man, to be go- 
vernor of Judea, and continuing Menelaus, a wicked wretch, in 
the High Priesthood. 

Not long after, when he would have retained his power in Egypt, 
but was prevented by the Romans, he was so enraged at the dis- 
appointment, that, out of mere madness, he detached twenty 
thousand warriors from his army, with orders to destroy Jerusa- 
lem, to put all the men to the sword, and to make slaves of the 
women and children. These orders were executed on a sabbath- 
day, when all the people were assembled at public worship, so 
that none escaped but such as could hide themselves in caves, or 
reach the mountains by flight. After having despoiled the city of 
all its riches, they set it on fire in several places, demolished the 





child’s commentator. 


828 

hou?es, and pulled down the walls round about it, and then, with 
the ruins, they built a strong fortress on an eminence that over- 
looked the temple, whence the garrison might sally forth and 
murder those that dared to worship there. 

On his arrival at Antioch, Antiochus published a decree, re- 
quiring all people in his dominions to be conformed to the reli- 
gion of the Greeks ; and he sent one Athenaeus, a Grecian idolater, 
to teach the Jews their idolatrous rites, and threatened with the 
most cruel deaths any who dared refuse. When this idolater ar- 
rived at Jerusalem, he obtained help from some apostate Jews, 
and caused all sacrifices to the God of Israel to cease ; he sup- 
pressed all the observances of the Jewish religion ; polluted the 
temple, and made it unfit for the worship of God ; profaned the 
sabbaths and festivals; forbad the children to be circumcised ; 
burned every copy of the law which could be found ; dedicated 
the temple to one of the heathen deities called J upiter 01 y mpius ; 
erected a statue of the false god. on the altar of burnt-offerings ; 
and, put every one to death who despised the king’s decree. 

A venerable priest named Mattathias, with his five sons, hav- 
ing retired to his native city, called Modin, there made a noble 
stand against the persecutor. Apelles, an officer of the king, in 
vain endeavoured to compel them to bow down to idols. Ho even 
offered great rewards to Mattathias if he would comply. The 
aged priest not only rejected the bribes, but slew the first apos- 
tate Jew who was proceeding to deny his God. He also rose upon 
the king’s agent, and, aided by his sons, put him to death, with 
all his attendants ; demolished the idols and their altars; and then 
withdrew to the mountains. Being joined by a number of his 
faithful countrymen, they formed a valiant army; and, marching 
through Judea, they broke down the heathen altars in all the 
cities; restored circumcision ; cutoff the ministers of the idols, 
and all the apostate Jews ; and revived the worship of the one 
living and true God. This took place one hundred and sixty- 
seven years before Christ. 

Mattathias died during the next year, and appointed Judas, one 
of his sons, surnamed Maccabeus, to succeed him in the command 
of the army. The army increased with zealous Jews, and this 





CHILD 3 COMMENTATOR. 


829 


brave man defeated several large armies of Antiochus, under his 
bravest commanders. He also recovered Jerusalem, purified the 
temple, restored the appointed worship of God, and repaired the 
almost ruined city. Antiochus was so enraged that be threatened 
to extirpate the Jews; but before he could attempt to put his 
threat into execution, God Almighty cut him off with a most 
dreadful disease. Antiochus Cupator succeeded his father. He 
was very young, and governed by an officer named Lysias. Under 
his guidance he aimed to fulfil the wish of his father, and tried to 
league other nations against the Jews; but Judas prevented the 
success of this scheme by attacking them before they were able to 
unite; and he beat the ldumeans, Syrians, Arabs, and others, and 
remained their scourge till he fell in battle, about three years af- 
ter the death of Antiochus Epiphanes. He was succeeded by his 
brother Jonathan, who, with Simon, his brother, managed the af- 
fairs of their nation with great prudence and courage. 

Jonathan now took upon him the office of High Priest at Jeru- 
salem, uniting with it the honour of civil governor, and formed 
an alliance with the Romans. Being slain by treachery, Simon, 
his brother, was chosen to succeed him, and after a reformation 
at Jerusalem, he made the Jews strong enough to become their 
own defenders. He, with two of his sons, was treacherously 
murdered by his son-in-law. 

John Hyrcanus succeeded his father Simon, about one hundred 
and thirty-four years before Christ. He was succeeded by his son, 
Avistobulus. This prince raised Judea again to a monarchy, and 
was the first, after the captivity, who took the title of King. 
Aristobulus was succeeded by his son Alexander Janneus. 

After the death of Alexander his widow reigned nine years. On 
her death, Hyrcanus her son reigned three months, when his bro- 
ther Aristobulus dethroned him. Aretas, king of Arabia, took up 
arms for Hyrcanus, when Aristobulus procured help on his side 
from the Romans. Pompey, the Roman general, however, decided 
for the elder brother, Hyrcanus, and, taking Jerusalem, seated him 
in the government: but he would not allow him to wear the 
royal diadem, and made Judea tributary to the Romans. This 
was in the year before Christ sixty-three. Pompey, with several 



830 


child’s commentator. 


of his officers, impiously entered into the holy of holies ; and 
Crassus, governor of Syria, pillaged the temple of ten thousand 
talents of silver. 

Soon after, Antipater, a nobleman of Idumea, was made go- 
vernor of Judea, being appointed by the celebrated Roman, Julius 
Csesar. Hyrcanus now retained only the office of High Priest. 
Antipater was succeeded by his son, Herod the Great, who reign- 
ed at the time that Christ was born. This wicked prince restored 
the temple to great splendour. Not long after the death of Herod, 
Judea became a Roman province. The sceptre departed from 
Judah, for Shiloh, a name given to the Saviour, in a prophecy 
spoken by Jacob, was now come ; and after him the Jews were to 
be dispersed, w T hich took place w'hen Jerusalem was totally de- 
stroyed by Titus, the Roman, and son of Vespasian, in the year 
of our Lord seventy-nine. The Jews have been ever since scat- 
tered abroad, among almost all the nations in the world, having 
filled up the measure of their iniquities by crucifying the Son of 
God at Jerusalem. But God has promised to restore them ; and 
they shall at last take Jesus for their Saviour, and Jews and Gen- 
tiles — that is, we and all the other nations who were and are hea- 
thens — shall praise and love him throughout all the earth. 
Amen. 


SYMBOL OP THE NEW DISPENSATION 



IB 






ySfj 

fm WS&ssSsSEsE 











ANGELS APPEARING TO THE SHEPHERDS 


'iMiijliiriMii: 




OR, 

MATTHEW’S GL’AD TIDINGS ABOUT JESUS CHRIST. 


THE FIRST AND SECOND CHAPTERS OF ST. MATTHEW. 

| 

The Birth and Infancy of Jesus Christ. 

w Arid she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name 
Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.” — 
Chap. i. 21. 


As we are now entering upon a new part of the Holy Scriptures, 
it may be desirable to explain to you the difference between that 




834 


child’8 commentator. 


which we have cone through, and that which we are about to 
notice. That which we have gone through, is called The Olh 
Testament, and that which we are about to notice, is called The 
New Testament. Testament is a word which properly means 
covenant or agreement. From Genesis to Malachi, we have the 
book first given to the Jews, and which contains all the agree - 
ments and promises made with and to them, by their kind and 
gracious God. But when Jesus Christ came into the world, he 
declared the mercy of God, not to the Jews only, but also to the 
Gentiles, or all the other nations which were then Heathen. This 
declaration is called The New Covenant, because the former is 
now no longer in existence, for that confined God’s favours to the 
Jewish Church, but this opens them freely to people of all nations 
on the face of the earth. Some call this second volume of the 
Sacred Scriptures, a will, for by that name we sometimes express 
a testament. When understood as a will, it means something 
. left by a friend, to be given us after his death. So, by the death 
of Jesus Christ, pardon, and peace, and heaven are bestowed up- 
on all who believe in him; and for the purpose of giving us the 
news of this gift the New Testament is published. 

All the terms of the old covenant are now done away. Circum- 
cision — or an incision, or cut on the flesh, as the mark of an Is- 
raelite — and the sacrifices, and various ceremonies peculiar to 
the Jews, were the evidences of agreeing on their part to the 
terms of God’s promises, but now whosoever believes in Jesus 
Christ shall not perish, but have everlasting life ; for in him all 
the law has been fulfilled, and he, by one offering of himself, has 
removed the guilt of sin from all that trust in him for salvation. 
Let us then joyfully read the History of this New Covenant, 
which concerns both you and me ; and may we truly believe in 
Jesus and be saved ! 

The book which begins The New Testament is called “The 
Gospel according to St. Matthew’.” 

“ Gospel” is a word which signifies glad tidings, or good news ; 
and this book is so called, because it tells us about Jesus Christ 
coming into the world to save sinners. By Gospel we also mean 
God's Word. 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


833 


Matthew, whose surname was Levi, was a native of Galilee, a 
part which Christ visited. He was a Jew, and was employed by 
the Romans as a tax-gatherer among his people, who in the days 
of Christ, paid tribute or taxes to the Romans, a powerful nation 
that ruled over them, and over many other parts of the world. 
The taxes which he collected were what we should call Custom- 
house duties, or certain sums of money on things brought into 
Judea from other parts, and things sent out of the country. Ilis 
station was at Capernaum, on the Sea of Galilee, and there too he 
received tax-money from all persons that went by water. He 
was “sitting at the receipt of custom” taking money, when Christ 
called him to leave his affairs and follow him ; that he might bear 
witness to what he should hear him say, and what he should sec 
him do. Hence he became one of the twelve Apostles, and the 
messenger of Christ to mankind, and the first writer of his 
history. 

This Gospel was written for the use of the Hebrews. The 
writer’s design was to strengthen the faith of those that trusted 
for salvation in Jesus Christ, and to make those believe who knew 
nothing of Jesus, by declaring all the great things which he knew 
about him: having himself seen and heard enough to establish his 
own belief in him, as the holy Saviour and Redeemer, who was 
foretold by the prophets, and who had at last “visited and redeemed 
his people.” 

Saint means holy ; all the good men who wrote the Scriptures 
might have borne the same name, for they were “holy men of 
God,” who were taught from heaven what they should write. In 
our New Testament, however, this is a distinction given to the 
four Evangelists, as they are called — that is, messengers of 
glad tidings, who have given an account of the birth, life, mira- 
cles, doctrines, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christy 
and to the apostles, who wrote the other portions of it 


The first chapter of this Gospel gives us an account of “the gene- 
ration” of Jesus Christ, —that is, it tells usfrom whom he descended. 
And this was very important; for none of the Jew's would ever 


child’s commentator. 


836 

have believed in him, if they had not been sure that he was the 
same Messiah of whom the prophets often spoke. I must here 
tell you that Messiah means anointed. The prophets, priests, and 
kings of Israel were anointed with oil ; that is, oil was poured 
upon them, to signify that God would so pour his holy blessings 
upon them ; and it showed that they were set apart for their parti- 
cular offices, to attend to those alone. The Messiah, as Jesus is 
called, more especially bore that name, which is in other words 
the anointed, or the anointed one. Christ is a name which has 
also the same meaning. None were ever anointed with such an 
abundance of gifts and of grace as he was. He was a Prophet, a 
Priest, and a King at the same time : a prophet, because he taught 
the way to heaven, beside foretelling many things which were to 
happen on earth ; — a priest , because he offered up a sacrifice, and 
such a one as made all sacrifices of an inferior kind of no use in 
future, so that they ceased when he offered up himself ; — and a 
king , because he was to reign over many hearts, and his subjects 
should yield him willing obedience in all times to come, and in 
all parts of the world. 

Matthew traces the line of Jesus Christ from Abraham ; for 
God promised to Abraham, in the twelfth chapter of Genesis, “ In 
thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” Now all the 
families of the earth could not be blessed in Abraham himself, for 
the blessing of God rested only on the Jews as a people, while 
Abraham lived ; all the earth besides consisted of the worshippers 
of idols, whom God abhorred, instead of blessing them. It was, 
therefore, understood by the Jews, that one should spring from 
him, who should indeed bless all the world,— not the Jews only, 
but the nations of the Gentiles. Matthew, then, in showing that 
Christ was the Messiah expected, here proves, in the first place, 
that he had one mark of the Messiah, for he sprung from 
Abraham. 

But this was not enough : Abraham’s family branched off in 
different lines, Isaac’s in one branch and Ishmael’s in another ; and 
so with the families that followed. But there was one particular 
line in which the promise was made, and among those of that line 
from Abraham was David; God had promised him, as we are told 


CHILD B COMMENTATOR. 


837 

in the seventh chapter of the Second Bo)k of Samuel, that he 
would set up his seed — or one of his race, after him, and “ estab- 
lish the throne of his kingdom forever.” Well, then, Matthew 
proves that Christ sprang also from David, as well as from 
Abraham ; and, therefore, so far he showed that he was of a race 
from which the Messiah was to come. 

Now, you must see that there is nothing unmeaning in the long 
train of hard Hebrew names which you find in this chapter, begin- 
ning with “Abraham begat Isaac, and Isaac begat Jacob; and 
Jacob begat Judas and his brethren.” For had not Matthew been 
so particular, he could not have proved that Christ came from 
Abraham and David, from whom the Messiah, who was to redeem 
his people, was to come. And thus he traces the whole pedigree, 
— as we call it, — from father to son, from generation to generation, 
till he comes to Jacob, who begat, or was the father of, “ Joseph 
the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called 
Christ ;” and so, on the reputed father’s side, Christ was de- 
scended from David and Abraham. 

The first proof that our Lord was the Messiah, the anointed 
Saviour, was his genealogy ; that he descenc ed from David and 
Abraham, as the Messiah was to spring from them. 

The next proof was that, as the prophet Isaiah had foretold, 
Isa. vii. 1 4, he was born of a virgin , or of one that was unmarried ; 
for though Joseph was the husband of Mary, he was only her 
betrothed husband, that is, he was only engaged to her, as we say ; 
— but that engagement, according to the custom of the Jews, could 
not be broken, and so he was to all intents and purposes by law 
and right, the husband of Mary, though she was a virgin, or as yet 
not in reality married. Now, Jesus Christ was “conceived” or 
formed “by the Holy Ghost,” or the Holy Spirit. We read in 
scripture of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, or Spirit, all 
of which names mean GOD, and only one God, yet three existences 
in this one God. I cannot explain this any better to you, for I 
can hardly explain my ownself, and I am sure then, I cannot 
attempt to explain about God Almighty’s existence, for “ God is 
a Spirit,” and has no form like me, and “no man hath seen God 
at any time” to tell us more about him. It was the Holy Gh >st 




child’s commentator. 


who formed the body of the blessed Son, who was born of the 
Virgin Mary ; and St. Matthew tells us, “ Now all this was done, 
that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the 
prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring 
forth a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which, beiug 
interpreted, is, God with us.” “ God with us,” means again— God 
in flesh, God in our nature. The divine Saviour most wonder- 
fully dwelt in the form of a man, as we dwell in our habitations, 
or as our spirits dwell in us. 

It w*as revealed to Joseph, in a dream, that this child was the 
Messiah ; and after Jesus was born, Joseph went to live with Mary. 

There was a third sign that Jesus was the Messiah — the 
anointed and expected Saviour, and this St. Matthew also takes 
care to tell us. He was “ born in Bethlehem of Judea.” There 
w r ere two places called Bethlehem, and the place where Christ was 
born was called Bethlehem of Judea, to distinguish it from 
another Bethlehem in the tribe of Zabulon, which is mentioned in 
Joshua xix. 15. 

That every thing might clearly point out Jesus when he should 
come into the world, the place where heshould be born was also men- 
tioned in prophecy : “ for thus it is written by the prophets ; and 
thou Bethlehem in the land of Judah art not the least among the 
princes of Judah : for out of thee shall come a governor that shall 
rule my people Israel.” This prophecy is in the fifth chapter of 
Micah, where the place is called Bethlehem Ephratah, but it was the 
same place, and in the land of Judah. This town is said not to 
be the least among the princes of Judah ; for the tribes of Israel 
were divided into thousands, and every thousand w*as under a 
ruler or prince : and so, though Bethlehem was not the most dis- 
tinguished of all places, yet it should have the highest honours 
conferred upon it, for there the Messiah should be born, and there 
he was born. 

At the time when Christ was born, “there came wise men from 
the East to Jerusalem,” to inquire about him. These wise men 
are so called either because they were thought by the idolaters 
where they lived to know a great deal more than other people, as 
they had the art of conjuring, and pretended to know future 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


839 


things ; or else they might be a set of men called Philosophers, 
who were great inquirers after wisdom. The place from which 
these wise men came is supposed to have been Persia, because 
that lay east of Judea. Here they saw a wonderful star shining 
in the heavens, and it appeared to them to be exactly over the 
land of Judea. They, therefore, thought that something extraor- 
dinary had happened there ; and it is supposed that they now re- 
membered a prophecy of Balaam, who lived in the East — which 
prophecy might have been handed down to them — who, although 
he was a wicked man, was obliged to speak the truth when God 
put it into his mouth. This prophecy is in the twenty-fourth 
chapter of Numbers, “ There shall come a star out of Jacob, and 
a sceptre shall rise out of Israel from which they might con- 
clude that this singular star was the star mentioned, and that it 
would guide them to the wonderful ruler who was to hold the 
sceptre, or sign of dominion in Israel. 

As soon as they arrived at Jerusalem they asked some of the 
principal persons, “where is he that is born king of the Jews? 
for,” said they “ we have seen his star in the East, and are come 
to worship him.” They supposed that the chief Jews must know 
all about it ; and as they, perhaps, thought that this ruler would 
have an extensive empire, and that they might probably be among 
his subjects, they wished to be early in paying him their homage. 

Herod the Great — as he was called — then reigned over the 
Jews; and when the wise men inquired after this new King, and 
the news came to the ears of Herod, he was “ troubled, and all Je- 
rusalem with him.” Herod was troubled for fear that he should 
lose his crown ; and all Jerusalem were troubled lest there should 
be a civil war about who should have it, Christ or Herod. Now 
Christ came not to be the king of the Jews, as Herod was, but to 
be a spiritual King, — to reign, not over territories, but over 
hearts ; and to conquer, not the surrounding nations, but to over- 
come sin, death, and the powers of hell. But Herod and the Jew- 
ish people did not understand this: however, as they must have 
known something about the prophecies, ho thought there was 
something serious in the question of the wise men, and that most 
likely the promised Messiah was come. And so wicked was he, 



§4-0 child’s commentator. 

that if Christ had demanded his throne, he was determined not to 
give it up, even to the promised Messiah himself. And so mad 
was he, that he thought he could destroy him, and so make even 
the divine prophecy to be false. 

He therefore very craftily set about, if possible, to destroy Je- 
sus. And first he inquired of the chief priests and scribes where 
Christ was likely to be born ; and they referred him to the pro- 
phecy of Micah, and told him — at Bethlehem of Judea. So Herod 
sent for the wise men, and informed them that he had found out 
the place after which they inquired, and he wished them to go 
and see the new King; and when they had found him they were 
to let him know, and he would go and worship him too. This was 
very artful ; for, had they done as he wished, his design was, not 
to worship Jesus, but to go and kill him. 

Having received Herod’s commands, the wise men took their 
leave, and set off for Bethlehem, which was only six miles from 
Jerusalem, it was strange that Herod did not go too, as the dis- 
tance was so short, and he might then easily have accomplished 
his wicked design ; but he thought, from this circumstance, that 
the wise men would soon return, and it was not worth his while 
to take the trouble to find out the new Prince, as they could act 
as his servants and do it for him. Thus God allowed him to de- 
ceive himself, and he was deceived. 

When the wise men departed, “lo, the star which they saw in 
the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the 
young child was.” And, “ when they saw the star, they rejoiced 
with exceeding joy.” The star then directed them to the house, 
where “ they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and 
fell down, and worshipped him.” Then, according to the custom 
in that part of the world, when great persons were approached, 
and especially kings, they “opened their treasures, and presented 
unto him gifts ; gold and frankincense, and myrrh,” the frankin- 
cense and myrrh both being valuable gums from Arabia, and 
other parts of the East. 

The wise men having seen Jesus, and left this suitable supply 
to his parents, who, though descended from King David, were 
but poor, departed for their own homes. Their nearest way was 





841 



child’s commentator. 


that which they took, and so they had no need to return to Jeru- 
salem, as Herod desired them to do ; but the grand reason why 
they did not was because God warned them, in a dream, not to 
return to Herod — probably each of them dreaming the same 
thing, which was very striking ; and so they obeyed the warning, 
and went back to their own country. 

God then spoke to Joseph by an angel in a dream, and order- 
ed him to leave Bethlehem directly with the infant Jesus and his 
mother, and go into Egypt, which was not far from Judea, and 
was tfut of Herod’s dominions, and there to remain till he should 
receive a like command to return, for Herod would seek to kill 
the child. So Joseph got up directly, and escaped by night into 
Egypt, where he, Mary, and the infant, remained till the death 
of Herod. 

i When Herod found that the wise men did not return, he was 
[ in a great rage ; and, supposing that Jesus was at Bethlehem, he 

| was resolved yet to carry his wicked design against him into ef- 
feet. He could not, indeed, learn which was the infant he want- 
jv ed ; but, to make sure of his mark, he ordered some of his offi- 
1 cers to go to Bethlehem, and kill all the children that were two 

1 years old and under, thinking that by killing the children of that 

age he should be sure to kill the new king. You may wonder 
how any king should be so cruel, or how any officers w'ould obey 
him ; but in eastern countries kings generally do as they please, 
and officers must obey or lose their heads. The Pacha or chief 
of Egypt, only about sixty years ago, treacherously slew a peo- 
ple called the Mamelukes, whom he invited to his capital for the 
purpose of slaughtering them. The wicked king Herod was 60 
cruel that history tells us he even slew three of his own sons ; 
no wonder then that he had a heart so hard as to kill the poor 
little infants in Bethlehem. 

When Herod was dead, Joseph was again spoken to by an 
angel in a dream ; and, being ordered to return, he left Egypt 
and went to live at Nazareth. 




842 child’s commentator. 


THE THIRD CHAPTER OF ST. MATTHEW. 

Account of John the Baptist, the Forerunner of Jesus Christ . 

“In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilder 
ness of Judea.” — Ver. 3. 


Another testimony to Jesus being the Messiah is stated by St. 
Matthew. It is that the Messiah was to have a forerunner ; or 
as great men used to have footmen or heralds going before them, 
to dear the way for them, so Jesus was to be announced to the 
world by a prophet. And in those days came John the Baptist, 
preaching in the wilderness of Judea.” — This was “the voice of 
nim that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the 
Lord which the prophet Isaiah foretold in the fortieth chapter 
of his prophecy. Here then was another evidence ; so that no 
mistake could happen about Jesus being the divine Saviour : and 
if any one had pretended to be so, it could easily have been 
proved that he was only a pretender, unless he had descended 
from David and Abraham — had been born of a virgin — had been 
born at Bethlehem of Judea — and had had a forerunner “crying 
in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord.” See how 
necessary it was that St. Matthew should write all these facts, to 
confirm our faith in Jesus. 

By a wilderness you are not here to understand a place entire- 
ly deserted, which is the meaning which we now often have when 
we speak of a wilderness ; but this w as a part of the country not 
so thickly peopled, nor so much inclosed into fields and vine- 
yards, as other parts were. It was a billy, broken country, in 
which, while there were some towns and villages, there was 9 
general lack of water, and many forests of stunted trees, and 
caves, and thickets inhabited by wild beasts. 

John the Baptist — the name by which ne is distinguished from 
John the Evangelist — was a priest of the order of Aaron, though 
we do not find that he ever ministered in the temple ; but wo 
















845 



child’s commentator. 

shall have occasion to notice more about him, as we proceed 
through the four Gospels. 

The subject on which John the Baptist preached, was repent- 
ance ; the theme of his discourses was — “ Repent ye, for the King* 
dom of Heaven is at hand.” To repent is to change the mind, 
and to change it from evil to good, so as to change the disposi- 
sitions of the soul and the conduct of the life. This John declared 
to the wicked Jews, who were now grown very bad, that they 
must do, if they would be prepared to receive that divine Saviour 
who was coining to reign among them, not as a temporal, but as 
a spiritual Prince; and this was what he meant by “the King- 
dom of Heaven” being “ at hand.” And so he prepared the way 
of the Lord. And, my dear young reader, if your heart is ever 
prepared to receive Jesus Christ, you must repent of your sins, 
*1 turn from them, being very angry with them, and very sorry 

[/ for them — and then you will be ready to believe in him, and to 

II trust your soul on him for salvation. 

j 3 The dress of John the Baptist appears to have been singular 
^ enough; but it was the dress in which the prophets usually appeared 
—perhaps a camel’s skin with the hair on it, or a garment of hair, 
which was very rough ; for in such plain robes the prophets used 
to dress. John’s meat was also as singular as his dress, for he 
lived chiefly on “ locusts and 
wild honey.” — Locusts were 
large flying insects, cooked 
for food by the poor in Pal- 
estine — though some sup- 
pose it was the locust-bean 
or carob that is meant here 
The wild honey was that 
gathered by wild bees, in 
the hollow trunks of trees. 

This was the food of the 
poorest people, and by liv- 
ing on this he showed the 
people that he was the predicted forerunner of Christ. 

It appears that John by his preaching attracted great crowda 




846 child’s commentator. 

“ Then went out to him Jerusalem and all Judea, and all the 
region round about Jordan not that every person in Jerusalem 
and Judea, and round about them, heard him at the same time, 
nor that every person heard him at all, — but Matthew means that 
the crowds were great from all parts of Jerusalem and Judea, and 
they were of all sorts, men and women, young and old, rich and 
poor, pharisees and publicans. To these he spoke in bold lan- 
guage, and warned them to flee from the wrath to come ! And he 
told them not to boast about Abraham being their father, — that 
is, not to boast that they were Jews descended from Abraham ; 
but to bring forth good fruit, that is, good works, as a good tree 
brings forth good fruit ; and so, if they wished to be thought the 
children of pious Abraham, they must be pious like Abraham. 

Many persons, my dear young reader, call themselves Christ- 
ians because they are born among' Christians ; but none can be 
Christians indeed, but those that are like Christ. John, as the 
forerunner of Christ, baptized his followers who believed his 
message, which was to show that purity is necessary, in receiving 
the benefits of Christ’s salvation. All, however, that John could 
do was to administer the outward sign ; but he whom he went 
before, and who was soon to come, was to baptize them with the 
Holy Ghost and with fire, not with the sign, but with the thing 
signified ; he could make them pure and holy ; what water did for 
the flesh, he would do for the heart, by the power of his Holy 
Spirit ; or what fire can do in burning up all corruption, he would 
do in changing the character of the soul. 

He could also wisely divide between the good and the bad, who 
professed alike to be ready to serve God ; while John was obliged 
to take them at their word, whether true and sincere or not. He 
would be like a husbandman who separated the chaff from the 
wheat, and by an eastern fan, used for the purpose, raised a wind 
so as to make the chaff fly off, and left the solid wheat behind. 

Thus John was the forerunner of Jesus, and foretold his com- 
ing and character. 

Our Lord Jesus from his childhood till now, when he 'was al- 
most thirty years of age, had lived quietly in Galilee. 

“It is supposed that John the Baptist began to preach and 


847 



child’s commentator. 


baptize about six months before Christ appeared.” Prior to his 
entering on his ministry, Christ came to John to be baptized in the 
Jordan; and John baptized him, though he felt reluctant to do 
it, and thought it too great an honour when Christ came to him 
for that purpose. After this was done, John saw the heavens 
opened, as it were ; the sky looked all clear, and bright, and glori- 
ous, to his eyes, and the sweet influences of divine grace were 
coming gently and yet strikingly upon Jesus, “like a dove” — that 
is, in some form of light resembling the appearance of a dove, and 
mild as a dove, — or as a dove descends, and hovers, and lights. 

From this circumstance, you will understand how it is that 
painters sometimes draw a dove descending, amidst light, on the 
head of Christ, and that the Spirit is represented, in some Church 
windows, in the shape of a dove surrounded with rays of glory. 

John also heard a voice speaking from heaven, “This is my be- 
loved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” 

Thus was Jesus declared to be the Son of God. 

In this chapter you read of “ the Pharisees and Sadducees 
their names will often occur in these Gospels. I will next tell 
you who they were. 

The “ Pharisees” were a sect or set of men among the Jews, who 
professed to observe the law of God more than any others ; they 
made a great show of their religion outwardly, and took care that 
everybody should take notice of them when they prayed, or did 
any religious service. They contrived, by these means, to gain 
the favour of the multitude, and their influence was at last so 
great, that they filled many of the best offices. They taught that 
men could merit heaven, and so they would not need a Saviour. 

The “Sadducees” were a sort of Infidels. They believed that 
the soul died when the body was dead, and denied that the body 
would rise again. As they believed there was neither reward 
nor punishment in another world, they did not leave sinners to 
humble themselves before God, or to receive their deserts from 
him, but punished offenders against the law in the severest man- 
ner. While the Pharisees believed in traditions, these people 
believed only in the written law of Moses. 


i 



848 


child’s commentator. 


THE FOURTH CHAPTER OF ST. MATTHEW. 

The Temptation of Jesus Christ. 

“Then "was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness, tc be 
tempted of the devil.” — Ver. 1. 

Jesus, as the Son of God, being able to resist all sin, was 
now, by the Holy Spirit acting powerfully on his mind, caused 
to go up into the mountains of the wilderness, where, being alone, 
engaged in holy exercises, the devil was allowed to tempt him, as 
he does us, to sin. Some think that the devil appeared to him in 
a bodily shape ; hut he could tempt Christ, as he tempts us, with* 
out taking any bodily form. 

Moses fasted forty days and forty nights before he delivered the 
law to the people of Israel ; and Christ fasted forty days and forty 
nights before he entered upon preaching the Gospel. Thus, he 
was further prepared, by self-denial and holy communion, to engage 
in his work. During this time, his nature was supported as was 
that of Moses, but at the end of the time he was exceedingly 
hungry. Then the tempter made the first attack upon his bod 
ily appetite, and said, “ If thou be the Son of God, command that 
these stones be made bread.” Now this was tempting Christ to 
doubt whether he was the divine person which he really was. 
Jesus could have turned the stones into bread if he would, for lie 
afterwards turned water into wine; but he was not going to lower his 
divine dignity at the suggestion of the tempter, and he said, 41 It is 
written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that 
proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” By this he meant, that 
God’s word told us to rely upon him to find us bread when we 
wanted it, and that those who trusted in him need not require the 
power of working miracles to produce bread from stones, but only 
let them trust in God, and he would provide for them. The pas. 
sage which our Lord quoted, you will find in the eighth chapter of 
Deuteronomy, and in the third verse. 

Satan then urged the Saviour to go to the pinnacle — or the top 


849 



child’s commentator. 


of the temple in Jerusalem, which was not far off. Some have 
fancied that he flew through the air with him ; but no such thing 
is said, and Mr. Matthew Henry thinks, that Christ, perhaps, went 
upon the ground, and so up the stairs to the top of the temple ; 
which is most likely. While he was here, standing over the holy 
city of Jerusalem, Satan suggested to him to cast himself down ; 
and then further suggested that it was written in the word of God, 
“ He shall give his angels charge over thee,” so that he could try 
by this whether what God’s word said was true; but if we trust 
in God’s word, that God will keep us from any danger which we 
apprehend, we shall not run madly into that danger; for this 
would show that we did not trust his word. Jesus directly re- 
plied, with an answer from Scripture, “ It is written, Thou shalt 
not tempt the Lord thy God.’’ To tempt, is to try, or put to the 
test ; and we are never to run into danger to see if God can bring 
us out of it. The above words are quoted from the sixth chapter 
of Deuteronomy, and the sixteenth verse. 

Christ was still troubled by the tempter; and having ascended 
a very high mountain, which commanded a large view of the sur- 
rounding countries, while viewing their extent, he showed him 
44 all the kingdoms of the world,” and presented to his mind their 
vast dominion, if he would only serve Satan. Perhaps his sugges- 
tion was something like this : that, with his mighty power, he 
should have all the idolatrous world immediately for his subjects, 
if he would only acknowledge Satan’s power and ownership of 
the world and its people. Here Jesus both baffled and drove 
tne tempter away ; for he said, “ Get thee hence, Satan : for it is 
written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him onlv 
shalt thou serve.” Here, finally, our Lord referred to the sixth 
chapter of Deuteronomy, and the thirteenth verse. 

Thus this vile enemy w’as driven aw'ay, and offered no more 
suggestions, for he saw that he could make no impression upon 
the mind of Christ, as he too often does upon our minds, when 
we think and do what is evil. 

After this Jesus was supplied with food by angels. 

John had been cast into prison, and Jesus now began to 
preach; so, leaving Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he 


] 

I 




850 


child’s commentator. 


went to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, which was a province 
of Palestine ; and thus a prophecy was accomplished about 
his appearing there to give the light of knowledge to the dark- 
ened understandings of men, which could see and know nothing 
spiritual and heavenly till he taught them so sadly had the 
people now fallen into ignorance. 

Here Jesus took up the same subject which John had preach- 
ed, and cried, “ Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at 
hand for he himself was now, not coming, but come, to set it 
up in the hearts of many, over whom he would rule and reign. 

Now it was that Jesus began to choose some disciples, who 
should attend him on his journeys, learn his doctrines, and see 
the wonderful things he would do, so that they might bear wit- 
ness about them after he had left the world. 

Walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw Peter and his brother 
Andrew, fishing ; and so — for the reason just named — he bade 
these fishermen follow him, for he would make them “ fishers of 
men meaning, that they should no more catch fish, but he 
would employ them to bring sinners to be saved by him. They 
would not leave their employment and their nets to follow every 
one who might choose to call them, but they could not resist the 
call of Jesus. There was something powerful and sweet in it, and 
they made no scruple to obey his command. Soon after, he saw 
James and John, who were fishermen also, and were in a ship, 
with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called to 
them in the same way, and they also followed him. 

Jesus now proceeded in preaching; and, in addition to this, he 
worked miracles, or did many things beyond the reach of natural 
means to do ; and so St. Matthew gives us yet another evidence 
that he was the Messiah — the Anointed Saviour. He began by 
curing the sick ; and he not only cured a few disorders, but all 
sorts of disorders ; and he did so at a word. So, “ his fame weut 
throughout all Syria, and they brought unto him all sick people 
that were taken with divers diseases, and torments, and those that 
were possessed with devils,” — which seems to have been a parti- 
cular evil then existing, as if to show Christ’s power over the 
devil in curing it — “ and those which were lunatic, and those that 


851 



child’s commentator. 

nad the palsy ; and he healed them.” It may seem odd, that peo 
pie should run after him in all parts to get cured ; but what will 
not sick people do to get well 1 I have known persons go in 
crowds in carts, or any thing they could find to carry them, to 
get the advice of some person famed for the curing of the sick, 
who visited the part of the country where the sick people were. 
But, in those parts where Christ travelled, it is a curious fact, 
that even to this day, if any physician is heard of, the people 
throng around him in all directions, to get his advice and assist- 
ance ; how much more must they have thronged to Christ, when 
they were sure to be cured by him ! 

We shall have other opportunities of noticing the disorders 
which Christ cured ; so that I need say no more about them at 
present. 


THE FIFTH, SIXTH, AND SEVENTH CHAPTERS OF 8T. MATTHEW. 

1 Jesus Christ's Sermon on the Mount. 

“ And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain ; and, 
when he was set, his disciples came unto him. And he open- 
ed his mouth and taught them.” — Chap. v. 1, 2. 


1 


We now come to what is called our Lord’s Sermon upon the 
Mount. There was no pulpit there, and, had there been one, it 
was not the custom for preachers to stand in a pulpit. They sat 
down while they taught. 

St. Matthew tells us what this sermon was ; and this may be 
viewed as another important evidence of the Messiahship of 
Jesus, for his doctrine and spirit were such as proved that he was 
from heaven and truly divine. How grand ! how holy ! how 
different from all the usual proud doctrines of sinful men ! 

We have no room to enlarge here ; but we may just go ovei 
what are called the beatitudes, or declarations of blessings made 
by Jesus in this sermon. His heart was full of tenderness, am 







852 child’s commentator. 

the very first word he uttered was to bless. O, would not you 
have liked to have heard him'? I am sure I should. And yet, my 
dear young reader, he speaks to us now, though not in person, 
yet by his word, and through his ministers, and by the secret 
voice of his Holy Spirit, which addresses our hearts in the means 
of grace ; and we do not always attend to him as we ought. He 
says the kindest things to us, and things as divine as are here 
uttered, and we often forget them. So that we may each say, — 

“ Oft 1 frequent thy holy place, 

And hear almost in Vain ; 

How small a portion of thy grace 
My memory doth retain !” 

But, to return to Christ’s sermon, which, though not heard by 
us, may be read by us. His first words are — “ Blessed are the 
poor in spirit : for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” By these 
he means all humble souls, who feel their need of a Saviour, as a 
truly poor man feels his need of charity. While many a proud 
rich man, and many a proud poor man too, shall be shut out of 
heaven, such a humble poor soul shall have a rich portion there. 

Then he proceeds : — “ Blessed are they that mourn : for they 
shall be comforted that is, they that are sorry for their sins, 
and grieved that they have offended against a good God, shall be 
pardoned for Jesus Christ’s sake. — “Blessed are the meek, for 
they shall inherit the earth angry persons, full of resentment 
at every affront, can never enjoy any comfort of life ; but meek 
spirits, having the temper of Christ, really inherit all the good 
that is around them, and enjoy it for themselves. — “ Blessed are 
they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness : for they 
shall be filled those w'ho find themselves guilty before God, and 
with a desire strong as a hungry man has for meat, or a thirsty 
man for drink, look for acceptance with God through a better 
righteousness, — or better merits than their own, — shall be satisfied 
w'ith the righteousness of the Saviour. — “ Blessed are the merciful : 
for they shall obtain mercy j” those who show mercy and kindnes? 
towards the bodies and souls of their fellow-creatures, for Jesus 
Christ’s sake, shall receive mercy from him. — “ Blessed are the 
pure iu heart : for they shall see God j” and none else shall see 




him in glory, but those whose hearts or dispositions are made 
clean and new by the Divine Spirit. — “Blessed are the peace- 
makers: for they shall be called the children of God.” Those 
who do all they can to make men live quietly and harmlessly, like 
real Christians, and to stop strife whenever they see it, God will 
bless, and they shall be owned as his children, who so strikingly 
bear one of the marks of his image ; so you see that those who 
love to quarrel have no right to look for the Saviour’s blessing. — 
“ Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake : 
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven this means, that those 
who are ill-treated by wicked people, because they are religious, 
shall be rewarded at last with the blessings of glory, which their 
persecutors, except they repent, can never enjoy. — “ Blessed are 
ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say 
all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake.” Those who 
\ are called ill-natured names, or names intended to reproach them, 
i because they serve God in sincerity, shall be blessed too. “ Re- 

| joice and be exceeding glad,” if this is the case, “for great is your 

J reward in heaven : for so persecuted they the prophets and, if 
they did so to the holy prophets, you must expect that they will 
[ not spare you. 

1 My dear young reader, as you grow up, you will find people 
thus hating religion, and those that sincerely follow Jesus ; but if 
you mix in all the sins and follies of the world, they will then 
bless and not persecute you ; however, mind this, you will not be 
blessed by the Saviour. Which, then, is the better portion of the 
two, — to have the hatred, and contempt, and reproach, of the un- 
godly here, and the love of Christ with it, both here and hereafter, 
or to have the friendship of the world, and lose the friendship aud 
favour of God 1 

Our divine Teacher then goes on to show what he expects from 
those who are his disciples. He says, “ Ye are the salt of the 
earth without good men in the world it would be a complete 
mass of corruption ; they are its salt, to preserve it from that 
state, just as salt, rubbed into a piece of meat, keeps it from be- 
coming putrid. He adds, “Ye are the light of the world;” 
without light we cannot see and true Christians are lights to 




854 child’s commentator. 

guide the ignorant, whose minds are dark, in the way which leads 
to heaven. 

He removes every ground of mistake about Kis doctrine, and 
shows the people that his disciples must reverence the holy law of 
God, and the truths taught by the prophets, and have a better 
righteousness or holiness than the scribes and Pharisees, who were 
men that made only an outside show of religion, while, in their 
hearts, they did not love the law of God. He shows them how 
much holier God’s law is than they supposed, and these Pharisees 
taught them to believe ; for instance, the Pharisees told them that 
when they killed another by violence, they broke the command- 
ment which says, “Thou shalt not kill but then God, who 
knows the heart, viewed his law as broken even when they did 
not kill, if they were so angry that they could have killed him, 
or wished him dead ; and violent angry words were like killing 
with the tongue, and so they were wicked before God. He further 
adds that no offering could be acceptable on God’s altar while in- 
justice and wrong was done to any one ; and therefore, if any one 
should go to God with an offering, and recollected at the altar that 
he had injured another, it would be proper for him to leave his 
gift or offering, till he had been to the offended person, and ob- 
tained pardon. 

The Pharisees taught that sin consisted in the action only, and 
that he who took another man’s wife broke the law of God ; but 
our Lord teaches us that he who indulges in an evil thought only, 
is a breaker of the law ; and that therefore, if even our eye or 
hand in any way should lead us to do things which may corrupt 
our hearts — though we may not openly break the law — it ought 
not to be allowed for one moment ; but, with a holy force — as if 
the very eye were plucked out, and the very hand cut off — we 
must turn them away from leading us to sin. 

The Pharisees taught the Jews that they might get rid of their 
wives if they did not like them, and turn them off at pleasure ; 
but our Lord told them, that a Christian must act differently, and 
love his wife to the end of her days. 

The Pharisees were very particular about taking oaths, and espe- 
cially if they solemnly vowed that they would do any thing foi 




child’s commentator. 855 


God, they thought it highly wicked not to do it ; notwithstanding, 
they did not mind swearing and taking God’s name in vain ; but 
Jesus says, “ Swear not at all.” 

The Pharisees taught retaliation, or doing evil to others because 
they have done evil to us ; but Jesus tells us in this sermon that 
we had better bear an affront than seek revenge for it ; and, to 
make this plain, he uses several similitudes, one of which may 
serve us in this place, in which he advises us, “ Whosoever shall 
compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain” — or two miles ; 
meaning by this, that it is better to comply with even an unrea- 
sonable request than to quarrel about it. 

The Pharisees said that people ought to love their neighbours, 
but they allowed them to hate their enemies; Jesus, however, 
teaches us a more noble feeling ; as any body, even the hard- 
hearted publican of old, would love his kind neighbour, and hate 

! his enemy, — but it is only a true Christian that will love his 
( enemy, and even try to do him good. In this he becomes like 
| God himself, who sends his sun and rain down not only upon them 
ra that love him, but even upon those who are his enemies by wicked 

17 works. We ought, therefore to study to be like our Father in 

j I heaven. 

( Here the chapter closes, but not the sermon ; we must pursue 

it in the next chapter. But there are two sorts of persons named 
in this chapter which I must just notice, to help you better to un- 
derstand our Lord’s discourse. 

The one class of persons is called “ Scribes.” They wrote copies 
of the Scriptures long before printing was known in the world, 
and whatever they heard of traditions, or things in the Jewish 
history which God’s word did not record : they also read and ex- 
plained the Scriptures to the people, giving their own fancied 
meaning to them, while the people listened to their comments 
with great reverence. Many of these Scribes were Pharisees, 

! and so our Lord often couples them together. 

The other class of persons is called publicans. By publican, we 
understand a person who sells beer ; but these publicans were not 
beer-sellers, but tax-gatherers, employed by the Romans to collect 
taxes of the J ews, who were then subject to Rome. They were a 








856 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


very bad set of men, and, in gathering the taxes, generally cheat 
ed the people, dealt hardly with them, and took more from them 
than they ought, for the purpose of putting the money into their 
own pockets. 

THE SIXTH AND SEVENTH CHAPTERS OF ST. MATTHEW. 

Continuation and Conclusion of Jesus Christ's Sermon on the 

Mount. 

“ And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the 
people were astonished at his doctrine ; for he taught them as 
one having authority, and not as the Scribes.” — Chap. vii. 28, 
29. 


In continuing his sermon, our Lord warns against making a 
show of our charity. Good people will always be charitable ; but, 
if any suppose there is any merit in doing only what they ought 
to do, God, our Father in heaven, will take no approving notice 
of such a sort of charity, and will never reward it; although he 
will reward charity done out of love to him, and without any idea 
that it can deserve any reward. The Pharisees, — whom Christ 
calls hypocrites, because they pretended to be very pious, and 
were in heart not truly so, — used to give away their charity in 
the synagogues or public streets, so that every body might see 
how benevolent they were ; thus they proclaimed their charity 
as it were with a trumpet, that men might praise them. 

Our Lord also warns against making a show of prayer: for 
prayer is a matter between God and ourselves. In prayer we 
profess to speak to God, and, therefore, ought not to make a dis- 
play before men. 

Nor have we any need to repeat the same prayers over and 
over again, in order to make long prayers. What God wants in 
prayer is the heart. Yet there is an extreme ; and while we are 
not to make unmeaning long prayers, we ought not to hurry over 
our prayers, as though we were glad when we had done speaking 
with God Almighty. 








MOUNT OF CORRUPTION. 












child’s commentator. 859 

And here our Lord tells us what kind of expressions are fit for 
prayers, in what we call “The Lord’s Prayer,” which, as you pro- 
bably know, I wish you well to understand. Here you address 
God as your father ; for, as a father, he provides for you ; you look 
to him in heaven, the holy dwelling of his glory ; you express a 
desire that his name may be treated w r ith reverence ; you wish that 
he may reign over your heart, and over the hearts of others every 
where, and that his holy law may be done among all mankind ; 
you acknowledge that you live by his bounty, who gives you daii} 
bread ; you confess your sins, which are debts to God, because 
they have left you short in paying God the duties you owe to him, 
and you ask him graciously to pardon them, as you pardon those 
who offend you — which I hope you do ; you ask God to preserve 
you from doing sinful things, which is meant by, “lead us not 
into temptation, but deliver us from evil,” or from the evil one, 
who is Satan ; and you express your full belief that God can do 
all that you ask, and your desires to give him honour and praise, 
by ending the prayer with saying, “ For thine is the kingdom, 
and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” 

Moreover, our Lord warns his hearers against making a show 
of fasting, and putting on gloomy faces, to appear by these to be 
sorry for their sins, when their hearts were never touched with 
godly sorrow; but instead of letting their dress be neglected and 
grow dirty, as if they thought about nothing but their souls, — 
Christ commands the face to be washed, and other cleanly cus- 
toms of the times to be observed, and in this w ay to express sor- 
row of heart, not to the world, but to the offended God. 

Another warning given by our Lord is against being covetous. 
Most people think that if they can get plenty of money heaped 
together, they shall be happy ; and for this reason all the world 
are striving to get rich ; and, while they do so, they are too apt to 
forget, that when they have got their wealth, — if it is not stolen 
from them, or if they do not lose it in some other way, — yet they 
must die and leave it all behind them. And so in their concern 
about getting rich for this world, they neglect to prepare for an- 
other. Jesus Christ tells such persons, that, if their treasures con- 
sist in fine garments, like those laid up by rich people in the 


i 








East, the moth will by and by eat them up ; or, if in precious 
metals, they will at last canker; or, in other treasures, they may 
be robbed of them ; and it is, therefore, much wiser to look for 
a lasting portion, of better treasure — the happiness of heaven ; 
the love and favour of God for ever, is far better than all the 
riches that ever were got together in this world. 

Jesus Christ then goes on to warn against being insincere in 
religion. God says, “ My son, give me thine heart.” He will not 
have half our hearts, but he must have them entirely. Our hearts 
mean our affections. We must love him better than every object 
beside in the whole world ; because he is better to us than fa- 
ther or mother, sister or brother. Now, if we love God, he tells 
us we should always be looking singly to him, aiming to do him 
honour. And, if our minds are in a right state, then they will be 
like our eye when it is clear, and does not see things double ; and 
| we shall look more and more singly at God’s glory, and try to do 
his will. Then, as the good eye is like a window to let in the 
light which guides the actions of the body, so, the good mind of a 
good man receives God’s better and spiritual light from his word, 
which guides the actions of his soul. “ No man can serve two 
masters,” for, while he gives his time to one he must take it away 
from the other ; so we can never serve God and mammon at the 
same time. Mammon means money, and our Lord means to say, 
that if the heart is slavishly bent on getting money, there is no 
room left to serve him. And so he proceeds to say, that he is the 
wise man who casts all his cares upon him, not being over anx- 
ious about what he shall eat, or drink, or wear ; and, those who 
humbly trust on his providence, shall find that he who feeds the 
birds of the air, and clothes in beautiful and delicate apparel the 
lilies of the field, will also take care of them. 

The next warning which we have in this beautiful sermon is 
against thinking uncharitably of others. “ Why,” says our Lord, 
“ beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but consi- 
derest not the beam that is in thine own eye Do you under- 
stand this, my young reader ? It means, Why do you seek to find 
faults in others, and not look at your own faults'? A mote means 
a straw, or splinter of wood, that may get into the eye and huit 




it; perhaps it is intended to signify trifling faults, which we may 
see in others, while we have those belonging to ourselves which, 
when compared with these, are like a huge beam. 

The next caution teaches us that, wicked people are filthy as 
dogs, and have nothing to do with holy things. 

Our blessed Lord then warns us against doing harm to any 
body. Why 1 Because God is good to us. If we sincerely pray 
to him, just as a kind father will give good things to his little 
children that ask him, so he will give good things to us. We 
ought, therefore, to delight in doing good, as God delights in doing 
good — for this is his delight; and, if we see sinners suffer, it is 
their own sin that makes them suffer ; or, if God corrects any of 
his people by affliction, he does not delight in it — “in all their 
afflictions he is afflicted.” Well, then, learn from the good God 
to do good. Remember this fine command of Jesus Christ, 
“Therefore, all things whatsoever ye would that men should do 
to you, do ye even so to them.” 

►Still, further, here is a warning not to follow the way of sin, 
because so many go in it, but rather to go with the few in the 
way of life. Mankind are so wicked that a few only love and 
serve God. Great numbers think and care little or nothing about 
him, and some openly declare that they hate his way of salvation. 
Now, a broad way is very pleasant for travelling, and a narrow 
way is often very disagreeable. Sin has its pleasures, but then 
they are only for a season, and they are gone ; and religion has 
its difficulties, but then, they too will soon be over. Choose, 
then, which road would you prefer to travel, a broad and plea 
sunt one, that ends in a place of darkness and misery, or a nar 
row and rough one, that ends in all that can please the eye and 
delight the heart. Sin’s wa y leads to hell ; but alas ! many go 
in that broad way : the way of religion leads to heaven ; but, 
oh ! there are but few that find it. May your heart be inclined, 
my dear young reader, to go with this happy few ! 

Another warning here given is against being deceived by false 
prophets — that is, false preachers or teachers. At all times there 
have been many who have pretended to show people the way to 
heaven, but they knew nothing about, and did not go in that way 




862 


child’s commentator. 


themselves. I fear there are many such still. But our Lord tells 
us how we may know them, and that is, by their fruits. That is, 
just as we know an apple-tree from a pear, or a peach from a 
plum — by the fruits they bear — so we may know who are Christ’s 
servants, and who are not, by the works which they do. If those 
who pretend to show us the way to heaven live ungodly lives, — 
walking just as all the world walk, in the paths of folly and sin, — 
we may be sure that such are the false prophets against whom 
we are warned, and we must have nothing to do with them. 

Then our divine Lord warns us also, against deceiving ourselves, 
— not to be satisfied with thinking that we serve him, but to be 
sure that we do. He tells us, “Not every one who saith unto 
me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he 
that doeth the will of my Father w hich is in heaven.” He m» j ans 
by this, it is easy enough to call him Lord, and to say we are 
servants of Christ, or Christians; but this is not sufficient. We 
must show that we are so; and this can only be done by minding 
the commandments of Christ, and doing what he tells us to do. 

Lastly, our dear Saviour concludes his sermon by a pretty and 
striking comparison, taken from fishermen in the East, who, to 
be near the sea at fishing-time, build their huts on the sands ; 
when the storms come, and, in a moment, sweep them all away. 
So, he tells us, will the hopes of all those perish, who are con- 
tented with hearing what he taught, but never doing it. But, those 
who mind his sayings and do them, shall be like a wise man, who 
built his house on a rock, which floods, rain, and wind, could ne- 
ver sweep away. The house of the wise man fell not, for it was 
founded upon a rock ; the house of the foolish man fell, and great 
was the fall of it, for it was built upon the sand. Christ himself 
is as a rock, on which thousands have safely rested their hopes 
for eternity ; but this world, with all its hopes of pleasure, is 
but as sand ; and those who build upon it for happiness, must at 
last lose every thing, and be ruined for ever. 

Thus Christ ended his divine sermon, and the people were as- 
tonished at hearing him. All he said was so heavenly and so 
good ; all he said was so different from what the Scrmes and 
Pharisees had taught. And he still preaches to us in this sermon : 




child’s commentator. 863 


he still preaches to us in his holy word. May we learn of him, 
for he is still, by his Holy Spirit, ready to teach us — he is “meek 
and lowly of heart, and we shall find rest for our souls.” 


THE EIGHTH AND NINTH CHAPTERS OF ST. MATTHEW. 

Miraculous Cures performed by Jesus Christ. 

“And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in 
their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, 
and healing every sickness and every disease among the peo- 
ple.” — Chap. ix. 35. 


When Jesus came down from the mount, the people did not 
like to leave him, they were so delighted with what he had said. 
Crowds followed him wherever he went. If we are delighted with 
Jesus, though we cannot look after him with our bodily eyes, yet 
we shall do so with the eye of our mind — we shall often think of 
him, and in this way we shall follow him to see what further 
good we can get from him. 

Matthew now tells us about a wonderful cure which Jesus per- 
formed. A poor creature afflicted with leprosy earnestly cried to 
him for help. If we had seen him our hearts would have felt the 
greatest pity for him, for the leprosy was a most miserable dis- 
ease. I think I see him with his white skin covered all over with 
scurf, which, had it been taken off, would have shown a body full 
of raw wounds. Perhaps he could hardly drag his swollen limbs, 
with deformed joints, the effect of his horrible disease ; and every 
one stood away from him, lest he should be infected by him. 
But Jesus, whose 

14 Heart is made of tenderness,” 

was ready at once to help him ; and, if others pitied him, and 
could not help, Christ both pitied and helped him too. He touch- 
ed him, and he was cured : his word was enough to remove the 
disorder — “1 will, be thou clean.” 



child’s commentator. 


864 

But, while this proves to* us that Jesus was “the Son of God,” 
and so possessed of almighty power — able to do any thing that 
he pleased, it reminds us that we are polluted with a worse dis- 
ease ; the disease of sin has infected our souls ; and that, if they 
are not cured, we must perish. Oh ! where, then, can we go for 
help 1 Why, we may go to JeSus. He can cure this disease as 
easily as he cured the poor man’s leprosy. He can make our 
wicked hearts good, and, if we pray to him sincerely so to do, 
we shall not pray in vain. We need pray but a short prayer, if 
we pray it with all our hearts and in earnest: “Heal me, O Lord, 
and l shall be healed.” 

It is said that Jesus “ went about doing good,” and in this he 
set us an example that we should follow his steps. Not, indeed, 
that we can work miracles, or do such things as heal the sick at 
a word — as he did : but we can be kind to the miserable, and 
give them all the help in our power. 

Matthew here tells us of another wonderful cure which he did. 
A Centurion, or officer in the Roman army, so called, met him 
in a place called Capernaum, where he was dwelling; and, doubt- 
less, having heard of his fame and readiness to do good, he hum- 
bly asked him to cure his servant. This was very kind of him, 
and showed that he was a good master; for sOme masters care 
nothing about the comforts of their servants, so that they can but 
get served by them. “ Lord,” said the officer, “my servant lieth 
at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.” Not that the 
palsy gives much pain, for it is a disorder which deadens all the 
body, and makes it not able to feel at all, but it was a severe af- 
fliction to the poor servant to be so laid aside like a log. Doc- 
tors can seldom cure in this disease, but Christ could cure it as 
well as he did the leprosy ; so he said, “ I will come and heal 
him.” The officer thought it was too great an honour for Christ 
to visit him, and again humbly asked him only to command the 
disease to go, and it would obey him, as readily as his soldiers 
did when he gave them the word of command. This was great 
faith in his power, to believe that he could cure the man though 
the man was not there. But he knew that Christ could see the 
man, though the man could not see him : and, as Christ delights 




GENE8ARETH 













TIBERIAS AND THE SEA OP GALILEE. 




/ 


4 







CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


867 


1 


in those who fully trust in him, he praised the mail’s faith to his 
disciples, to teach them to trust him with the same confidence ; 
and he told the Centurion to go home, and he would find his 
servant well ; and so he was, for he “ was healed in the self-same 
hour.” 

The next account of Christ’s curing the sick informs us, that 
the mother of the disciple Peter was “ sick of a fever,” — a disor- 
der that is often very severe and killing, and, if cured, it is not 
to be cured in a moment. But Jesus only touched her hand, and 
the fever left her. 

At that time Satan and his wicked spirits tormented the bodies 
of some persons in a surprising way, as though they would pre- 
vent Christ from gaining honour by curing these victims. But 
these were nothing before him, for “he cast out the devils with 
his word.” 

Perhaps you have seen the sea, and how rough are its waves. 
If you ever saw it in a storm, it foams most furiously, and its 
waves swell like high mountains. It dashes against the rocks as 
if it would even crush them to pieces. When this is the case, the 
winds blow with a force that scarcely any thing can resist. In 
such a storm the disciples were when Christ was with them in a 
ship crossing the sea of Tiberias into the country of Gadara. 
While they were ail in alarm, and “the ship was covered with 
waves,” he was in a sweet sleep. The disciples, whose faith in his 
divine power was now fully strengthened, having seen what won- 
derful things he did, immediately awoke him, and cried, “ Lord, 
save us, we perish!” His tender heart felt pity for their distress, 
and he instantly commanded the winds and the waves to be still, 
“ and there was a great calm.” Well might they wonder and say, 
“ What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea 
obey him !” Their prayer was one that we ought to pray, “ Lord, 
save us, we perish !” For our bodies to sink to the bottom of 
the sea is nothing, compared with our sinking into the bottomless 
pit of destruction. And yet we are in as much danger of this 
ruin as the disciples were of sinking, if we have never cried to 
Jesus to save us. We are all sinners, and no sinner can ever be 
saved who has not cried earnestly to him to save him. My dear 



child’s commentator. 

child, have you ever prayed the prayer, “ Lord, save, or I per 
ish V’ 


The next instance of our Lord’s power is the cure of two men 
possessed of devils. These men were a terror to every body. 
A mischievous drunken man is enough to frighten one ; a man 
that is mad is worse ; but a man possessed of devils was far worse 
than either. These men lived in caves of the rocks, where the 
Jewish people used to make their tombs to bury their dead, and 
they were so “ exceeding fierce” that “ no man might pass by that 
way.” The wicked spirits that were in these unhappy bodies were 
in a still greater rage when they saw Christ approaching them, 
and they said, “ What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son 
of God 1 Art thou come to torment us before the time?” From 
which question it is believed that wicked spirits will be more tor- 
mented after the day of judgment than they ever yet have been. 
Since these devils found that Christ would not let them keep 
possession of the bodies of these poor men whom they tormented, 
they asked to go into a herd of swine that they saw near them, — 
for they would rather torment these poor animals than be pre- 
vented from doing any harm at all. Now, as theses wine be- 
longed to Jews, and were kept contrary to God’s law, who would 
not allow them to partake of them, being reckoned among the 
unclean beasts, Jesus, to punish the owners, suffered the devils 
to go into the swine, which they so tormented that they “ran 
violently down a steep place into the sea, and so perished in the 
waters.” 


The covetous Jews were very angry that they had lost their 
swine, though two of their people had been saved from cruel tui- 
ments by the loss, and, having besought Jesus to leave them, he 
went home again to Capernaum. Poor creatures ! they seem all 
to have been possessed, if not with devils, at least with the spirit 
of the devil, or they would never have preferred their swine to 
Christ. What benefits did they lose by sending him away ! They 
might, perhaps, have been cured of many diseases which must have 
been among them, and they lost the hearing of his words who 
“ spake as never man spake,” and by which they would have been 
shown the sure way to heaven. Thus it is that many people still 



I 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


869 


treat Christ. If to follow him exposes their interest to danger, 
they are quite ready to give him up, and so they despise his 
“ great salvation.” Had they been among the Gadarenes they 
would have been among the first to beseech Christ to “ depart 
out of their coasts.” 

Jesus, having returned to Capernaum, another man, “ sick of 
the palsy,” was brought to him on his bed, or mattress, which, it 
the Eastern countries, is very light and thin. Our Lord, seeing 
that the man himself, and his friends, believed in his willingness 
and power to cure him, instantly gave him relief, both in soul 
and body — he pardoned his sins, and he sent him home carrying 
the bed on which he was brought. Some of the wicked Scribes 
who were present, when they heard Christ tell the man that his 
sins were forgiven him, charged him with blasphemy, because 
none but God could forgive sins, and they knew not that he was 
“ God manifest ,” or seen, “ in the flesh.” But they must have been 
ashamed of themselves, and put to silence when our Lord after- 
wards cured the man ; for, as none but God could forgive sins, so 
none but God could say with effect to one sick of the palsy, 
“ Arise and walk.” 

At this time Matthew was called to be one of Christ’s disci- 
ples; Luke calls him Levi, for the Jews often had two names. 
He was sitting taking taxes at “ the receipt of custom,” or a cus- 
tom-house, where duties on goods are paid to the king, when 
Jesus said to him, “Follow me. And he arose and followed 
him.” So, when his grace touches the heart, sinners now leave 
all their wicked connexions, and are ready to give up all their 
worldly gains, if they stand in their way, and follow the Lord 
Jesus Christ, by openly professing him, and declaring in their 
lives whose they are, and whom they serve. 

We next find Jesus at a feast given by Matthew to his friends 
as appears from the fifth chapter of Luke. Perhaps he wished to 
do them good on this occasion, and wanted them to hear what 
his Lord would say. His companions were publicans, or tax-ga- 
therers, a set of men greatly despised, because they pressed people 
so hard to get all the money they could from them. The proud 
Pharisees, who thought themselves the best of men, were astonished 


1 




/ 

<=; 


870 child’s commentator. 

that Christ, who taught the people to be holy, should sit down 
with such company. But our Lord did not go there to countenance 
any wickedness, but with the design to teach them the way to be 
saved. “ Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners 
said the Pharisees to his disciples. By sinners they meant heathen 
— a name they were used to give those who were not J ews. J esus, 
hearing of their question, said, “They that be whole need not a 
physician, but they that are sick.” He meant, that those who felt 
themselves quite at ease, — as did the Pharisees, — were not such as 
could desire a Saviour, but others who did not presume that their 
hearts were good, were those to whom he, as a Saviour, would 
be most desirable. “I am not come,” said he, “to call the right- 
eous,” as the Pharisees thought themselves to be, “ but sinners tv) 
repentance.” If we fancy that our hearts are very good, and that 
we are very innocent creatures, who have never offended God 
Almighty, why then we know nothing about the evil of sin, and i 

cannot dread the consequences of offending God ; and, if we pray, i 

“Lord, have mercy upon us!” we shall do it in a thoughtless j 

way, without any earnestness or feeling. Now this state of mind | 

will never allow us to cling fast to Christ until we get his salva- 1 

tion ; but poor, lost sinners, who feel that their thoughts, words, j 

and deeds, have all been what they ought not to be, will humbly 
go to Christ, and while they seek mercy, they shall find it. 

My young reader, I must not notice every verse as we proceed, 
but only make some remarks on those parts which will be read by 
you with the most delight. There are some portions, which you 
must be older than I suppose you to be before you can properly 
understand them ; but when you understand well such as may now 
be explained, the rest will be read by you with extreme pleasure. 
Indeed, I have read the holy Scriptures for a great many years, but 
I alw T ays find that I have something new to learn from them, and 
begin now to wish that I had delighted in them as much when I 
was young, as I do now ; for J see so much new beauty in them, 
that I cannot get half the time 1 would wish to study their holy 
and heavenly pages. The reading of them appear? to me like 
walking through the garden of paradise, and gathering of the 
fruit of the tree of life. But let us return to our subject, and 



1 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


871 


‘4 


pluck some more fruit from this precious tree ; and may we so 
truly partake of it, that we may live for ever ! 

Before I notice the next miracle which Jesus performed, I must 
just stop to explain the seventeenth verse of this chapter, because 
it refers to a custom not known in England, and for that reason 
some have not understood it. Our Lord says, “Neither do men 
put new wine into old bottles, 
else the bottles break, and the 
wine runneth out, and the bot- 
tles perish : but they put new 
wine into new bottles, and both 
are preserved.” He said this 
to signify that his disciples, — 
being men taken from active 
business, and not accustomed to 
fast, as were the disciples of 
John, — were not fit to bear the 
severity of it, any more than an 
old bottle.could bear new wine; 
and, in a verse preceding — 
than an old rotten garment 
would bear mending with a strong new piece. Now we can see why 
an old garment must not be mended with a strong new piece of cloth, 
because the newpiece would tear away the rotten part by its strength 
and weight; but how can new wine hurt old bottles ? An old glass 
bottle is as good as a new one, and perhaps, indeed, better, because 
it is seasoned — has been tried, and found good. But ju-tone simple 
fact removes the difficulty : the bottles used in the East, and re- 
ferred to by our Lord, were made of leather ; and as an old shoe will 
burst when the leather is much worn, so would the old wine bottles. 

A certain ruler of the synagogue, where the Jews worshipped, 
had a daughter lying dead; and having heard of the wonderful 
things which Jesus did, he believed that he was able to restore his 
daughter, even from death itself, and so went and worshipped 
him, and asked him for his almighty aid. Jesus arose from 
Matthew’s table, where he was then sitting, and following the 
ruler, went with him to his house. 




872 CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


On his way to the ruler’s house, a poor woman that had had 
“ an issue of blood twelve years,” and which she could get no one 
to cure, came behind him, and being full of faith in his power to 
cure her, she thought she would touch the hem of his garment, — 
the fringe which our Lord \vore as a Jew, — and even that garment, 
hanging about his sacred person, might be the channel of conveying 
the healing virtue which he possessed, to her poor diseased body. 
Jesus knew all about what she w as doing, and why she did it, and 
he graciously turned round to her, and said, “ Daughter, be of 
good comfort, thy faith hath made thee w hole.” He , indeed, had 
made her whole ; but by her believing in his power to heal her 
she had received the cure. Christ can always make us whole, and 
heal the wounds which sin has made in our poor souls ; but it is 
only he who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ that can be saved. 

Do you believe in him, young reader? then you will not be con- i 
1 1 tented to hear of him only, you will go to him where only he is 
to be found, — you will seek him at a throne of grace, and learn 
; Si what he has to say to you in his holy word and ordinances ; and 

; J so you will touch him by faith, as your hand can touch a body, 

It and receive divine benefits from him. I can explain this no bet- 1 

II ter ; but, if you really go to Christ, you will know and feel, w hat /] 

I it is to believe, more than a thousand words can express it. 1 

Jesus then went to the ruler’s house, and when he came there he 
“ saw the minstrels and the people making a noise.” This was a 
proof that his daughter was really dead ; for the minstrels were 
pipers who played mournful tunes, and the noise was such as was 
made by mourning women, who were always employed among the 
Jews, to groan and cry over deceased persons. So he stopped their 
playing and mourning, and told them that the little maiden was 
not dead, but only slept ; — for she w as not dead to him, since he 
could at once restore her — but as they had seen that she was dead, 
they laughed at him for saying the contrary. However, he soon 
gave proof that death to him was no more than asleep; and 
though no merely human being could aw^ake the dead, he could. 

And going in, he took her by the hand, and she rose up : and the 
fame of this cure went abroad every where. 

When he left the ruler’s house two blind men followed him, and 




they cried, “ Thou son of David, have mercy upon us.” These 
men believed that Jesus was the true Messiah, or anointed Sa- 
viour, — and, as he was to be of the family of David, they ad- 
dressed Christ, “Thou Son of David.” He let them follow him 
into the house, and then he asked if they really believed he could 
cure them. And they said, “ Yea, Lord and, having merely 
touched their eyes, they received sight. Oh, the joy of these 
blind men ! What a blessing is sight! What a poor helpless 
creature is he who loses it, — dependent upon others to do every 
thing for him, and lead him about! Yet it is far worse to have 
the understanding darkened, — to see no beauty in Christ, that we 
may desire him. And how many are so blind ! Lord, give us 
eyes to see thee in thy word, and let our minds behold thee, as 
“ altogether lovely.” 

The blind men had hardly left the house when the people 
brought J esus “ a dumb man, possessed with a devil.” It is thought 
that the wicked spirit had taken away his power of speech. “ And 
when the devil was cast out the dumb spake : and the multitudes 
marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel.” Moses, Eli- 
jah, and Elisha, were great prophets, and did wonderful things, 
but so many such things, and done in so wonderful a way, were 
never before known in Israel. The wicked Pharisees, who always 
hated Christ, because he exposed their deceit and pretended piety, 
could not deny what wonders he had done, but they said that he 
did them by the power of the devil. But see how they were 
caught in their own words, as if they were taken in a trap ; for it 
is not likely that the devil would have given any one power to 
cast himselt out, where he wanted to keep possession. 

But we are only told a part of what Jesus did. For he travelled 
through many cities and villages, and every where he both preach- 
ed the gospel, and performed miracles. And seeing so many 
flocking like sheep, to hear the gracious word that proceeded out 
of his mouth, he was greatly grieved for them, to observe how 
ignorant they were, and how neglected they were by those who 
ought to have instructed them. He compared them to a ripe field 
ready for the harvest, but there were no labourers to gather it in, 
and he desired his disciples to pray that more ministers might be 



874 



child’s commentator. 


sent out to preach the gospel. They did pray, and their prayers 
have been heard, and now God’s ministers are going through all 
the world, and their words to the end of the earth. 


THE TENTH CHAPTER OF ST. MATTHEW. 


Christ's Twelve Disciples. 

“And when he had called to him his twelve disciples, he gave 
them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to 
heal all manner of sickness, and all manner of disease.” — 
Verse. 1. 


. |\ This wonderful power was given to the first ministers of Jesus 

1 Christ, to prove that he had sent them to make known his gospel 
to the world; and the truth of his gospel having long been 
' iff proved, the works which they did are not now necessary to make 
/ us believe in it. 

We have here the list of his twelve apostles, which, for the 
sake of memory, I put down in a column, and divide into three 
fours. 




1. Simon, called Peter. 

2. Andrew, his brother. 

3. James, the Son of Zebedee. 

4. John, his brother. 

5. Philip. 

6. Bartholomew. 

7. Thomas. 

8. Matthew. 

9. James, the Son of Alpheus. 

10. Lebbeus, whose surname was Thaddeus. 

11. Simon, the Canaanite. 

12. Judas Iscariot, 



BURIAL OF JOHN THE BAPTIST. 














rHE PRODIGAL SON. THE GOOD SAMARITAN. 








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■— *'■ 

■B 

g£J 


H 


im 





CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


Of these, the first two, Simon Peter and Andrew, were bro- 
thers. The next two were also brothers, James, the son of Ze- 
bedee, and John. 

The last among the next four was Matthew, the writer of this 
gospel ; and the last of the last four — was Judas Iscariot, who af- 
terwards betrayed his divine Master. 

In the first verse these are called disciples , which means per 
sons who learn of a teacher ; for Christ was their teacher, and they 
learned from him. In the second verse they are called apostles , 
which means persons who are sent. These twelve were chosen 
as Christ’s disciples, that they might be always with him, and see 
the wonderful things which he did, and hear the divine doctrines 
w'hich he taught ; and afterwards they went forth as apostles, to 
tell the world what they -had heard and seen, and so to deliver 
his message as servants w r hom he had sent. 

In doing his work they were to trust to his providence to pro- 
vide for them. But, as they were to preach holy truths to a 
wicked wmrld, they w ere to expect to be roughly used, for they 
would be like worried sheep in the midst of wolves. Yet they 
were to fear nothing, for he would protect them till their work 
was done. 

Jesus, the master of his family in heaven and earth, was treat- 
ed in the basest manner by evil men, and the most hated names 
were not thought too bad to give him. He w ho was “ God mani- 
fest in the flesh,” w r hs, by way of derision, called, by some base 
creatures, “ Beelzebub,” the name of a foolish heathen idol, which 
signifies “ the God of Flies.” 

And Christ teaches, that those who should receive their message, 
w ould suffer like them. The Saviour’s heavenly doctrines, though 
so peaceable and so holy, would, from the wickedness of men, 
divide many families; and wicked fathers would hate their pious 
children; and wicked children would hate their pious fathers. 
Unholy mothers would not love their holy daughters who became 
like Christ, and unholy daughters would not like their religious 
mothers. But, though it must be painful for such near relatives 
to offend those whom they loved as of the same family, yet 
those who would follow Jesus Christ w'ere never to let their 



878 CHILD 8 COMMENTATOR. 

friends who did not love him be the means of keeping them 
from him. 

However, some would be found who would treat these apos- 
tles kindly, mid they should receive their reward for this kind- 
ness. Whatever is done for the Saviour is not forgotten by him. 
He is a good master, and happy are all they who are his faithful 
servants. 


THE ELEVENTH CHAPTER OF 8T. MATTHEW. 

Christ's Character of John the Baptist. 

“Verily, I say unto you, among them that are born of women, 
there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist.” — 
Verse 11. 


John the Baptist was at this time cast into prison. The ac- 
count of this affair is given in the fourteenth chapter. The wonder- 
ful things which Jesus did were, however, told him in that place, 
and, as he desired that his disciples should become acquainted 
with Christ, he sent them to hear from his own lips what proofs 
he could give that he was the long hoped for Messiah. Jesus 
both told and showed them what wonderful 'things he performed 
on the blind, the lame, the lepers, the deaf, the dead ; and how 
he preached the glad tidings of heavenly mercy to the poor. 
These were proofs enough. 

Then, as soon as John’s disciples were gone, he took occasion 
to show the character of this good man, on whose faithful minis- 
try many of the people had attended. “ What,” said he, “ went 
ye out into the wilderness to see 2” when ye went to hear John 
the Baptist. “ A reed shaken by the wind!” They understood 
the meaning of his question, which was, that John the Baptist 
was not a timid, wavering preacher, weak and shaking like a 
reed — but they had had the benefit of the boldest warnings from 
his lips. 



] 

:i 





child’s commentator. 879 

“ But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft rai- 
ment ? Behold, they that wear soft clothing are in king’s 
houses.” If they had gone to see such an one when they went 
to see John the Baptist, they had found themselves mistaken, for 
he was quite a plain man, who was not concerned to make a show 
of himself in the world, but to prepare the hearts of the people 
to receive Christ. 

Yet again he asked, “ But what went ye out for to see? a pro- 
phet ?” If this had been their expectation, they had been even 
more highly privileged than those who had heard the prophets, 
for, in hearing John the Baptist, they had heard more than a pro- 
phet, a person more excellent than a prophet — his “ messenger” 

— one whom God had sent to be the forerunner of his own Son 
when he came into the world to preach glad tidings to the lost. 

They had indeed heard the greatest man that ever was born ; 
for he was prophesied of by the prophets, and pointed to the very 
object himself before the people which the prophets had never 
i seen, but were only honoured to foretel. 

Thus you see that true greatness does not consist of riches, or 
j show, or talents ; but it consists in our being servants of Christ, 

and he who is the most faithful of his servants, and is honoured ij 

) with divine intercourse with him, is raised to the most exalted ] 

rank. Indeed, thbugh John the Baptist was so great a man, 
Jesus said even of him, “notwithstanding, he that is least in the 
kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” The little infant in hea- 
ven is greater than John was, for he was then exposed to the 
faults which belong to the best of men, while the infant that is 
in heaven is free from all sin, and for ever near and like his glo- 
rious Creator. 

Though the people of that time were favoured with the preach- 
ing of such a man, they were but too unconcerned about it; for 
it is of no use to us if we only hear God’s word preached, but 
never care whether it does us any good or not ; but these people 
were like children at play in a market-place, where some might 
pipe to others to make them dance, but their piping was not 
minded, for the others would not dance, for they were minding 
something else. Here, pause a moment, young reader ! Whom 


j 



child’s commentator. 


880 

besides does this resemblance suit 1 Is it at all like you 1 When 
good things are told you, either in the pulpit or out of it, are you 
minding other things 1 If so, I hope you will pray to God to 
help you to mind better in future. 

But these people did not only not mind what John the Baptist 
said, but they even gave ill names both to him and to Christ* 
As they did not like the rough manners of John, nor the doctrine 
of repentance preached by him, and were not willing to break oil 
from their sins, they excused themselves for not minding him by 
saying that he had a devil — that he was not right in his mind, 
like the man among the tombs. Well, Christ was very meek 
and gentle, and what could they say against him ? Why, because 
he went and ate with publicans and sinners, to show how ready 
he was to do them good, — they said he was a glutton and a 
drunkard. Wicked people always try to find some excuses fur 
their sins, and so have always something to say against those 
who warn them faithfully against them, and invite them to flee 
from them. 

It was a very awful thing for these people, that when John and 
Christ warned them to escape from the wrath to come, they did 
not mind them. 

As they cared so little about their preaching, and even reviled 
them, Jesus, — who, in his sermon on the mount, — showed how 
much he loved to bless, — here pronounced solemn woes against 
these wicked people, some of whom dwelt in a place called Cho- 
razin, and some in a place called Bethsaida. And he also told 
them that their guilt would be the greater, because, while other 
places, such as Tyre and Sidon, had never had such privileges, 
they had enjoyed them, but were, notwithstanding, more wicked 
than the heathen who lived in those cities. As for the people 
who belonged to the city of Capernaum, they were yet less excu- 
sable ; for they had Christ dwelling among them, and doing his 
wonderful works there ; and still they continued wicked ; so that 
their sin was even greater than the sin of Sodom, for which God 
had destroyed that wicked city. And so would he destroy Ca- 
pernaum, and punish it in his just wrath. 

Yet, though many rejected Christ and his gospel, some receiv 



881 



ed him. And, while people who thought themselves very wise 
would not learn of the Saviour, simple souls who minded his 
word?t were made wise unto salvation. He even loves babes ; 
and little children w T ho listen to his word, and so learn of him, 
shall prove that he is meek and lowly of heart, and shall find rest 
for their souls. If he put his commands upon them they are not 
grievous commands, they are only to keep them from sin, and 
that is to keep them from evil ; so, if they bear them as a sort of 
yoke about them, they shall find his word at last to be true, as 
thousands can testify, when he says, “ My yoke is easy, and my 
burden is light.” 





I 


THE TWELFTH CHAPTER OF ST. MATTHEW. 

The Pharisees ■ Enmity against Christ . 

“ Then the Pharisees went out and held a council against him, 
how they might destroy him.” — Ver. 14. 


One Sabbath-day Jesus was going through a corn-field in his 
way to the synagogue, and his disciples who were with him, be- 
ing hungry, plucked some ears of corn, and ate them. Now the 
Pharisees, though they were wicked in their hearts, were very 
particular about some outward things, wishing people to think 
them the most pious men in the world. So they found fault with 
Jesus for letting his disciples pluck the corn on the Sabbath, 
which they considered as a sort of work, forbidden by the fourth 
commandment, which says, “ Remember the Sabbath-day to keep 
it holy — in it thou shalt not do any work.” (See the twentieth 
chapter of Exodus.) Jesus, who was always full of wisdom, gave 
them a prompt reply, to which they could not make any answer, 
f , )r he reminded them how David ate the shew-bread when he was 
hungry, and that bread God had commanded to be given only to 
the priests, yet the priest gave it to David and his men. He also 
told them to recollect that the priests did work on the Sabbath- 
day, and that within the temple too, for they could not kill and sac- 




S82 child’s commentator. 


rifice the beasts without doing work, and yet they were not doing 
wrong. This silenced them, and he went to the synagogue. 

When he arrived at the synagogue they resolved, on renewing 
their attack upon him ; and, as there was a man there with a j 
withered hand, they asked him if it was lawful to heal on the 
Sabbath-day. This they did, “ that they might accuse him,” for 
they even taught that no medicine was to be given on the Sab- 
bath. Our Lord asked them whether it was not lawful to save 
a sheep on a Sabbath-day, when it had fallen into a pit ; and, if a 
sheep, why not a man, who was of so much more value than a 
beast? “Wherefore,” said he, “it is lawful to do well on the 
Sabbath-days.” We may not only worship God on that day, but 
we may relieve the poor, visit the sick, and do other works of 
kindness and charity. This Christ has taught us by healing the 
sick, for he said to the man, “ Stretch forth thine hand : and he 
stretched it forth ; and it was restored whole like as the other.” 

We may also do other works which are of real necessity, as light- 
ing a fire to keep us from cold, or putting out a fire to save our 
property, or that of our neighbour, when it is in danger. This 
Christ has also taught us, by defending his disciples in plucking | 
the corn when they were hungry. J 

As breaking of the Sabbath was a crime punished by death, 

(see the thirty-fifth chapter of Exodus) the Pharisees, instead of 
being thankful for the good done to the man, sought to destroy 
Christ for curing him, declaring that he had broken the Sabbath. 

Oh, how far will men go in wickedness when their hearts are 
hardened ! How blind the Pharisees must have been not to have 
seen that none could have done such a cure but God, or by his 
power ! Jesus, however, went away from them, and multitudes 
followed him, who, hearing what he had don$, took their sick with 
them, “ and he healed them all.” That was, indeed, a happy 
Sabbath to all these poor creatures ; they would remember it as 
long as they lived. However, “ he charged them that they should 
not make him known.” He did this, perhaps, for two reasons; 
the one to prevent the Pharisees having any more proofs of who 
he was, since they had already refused to believe in him from 
what they had seen ; and the other to teach us that when we do 





good we ought not to publish it abroad in every place like the 
Pharisees, who did all their works “ to be seen of men.” 

Among those our Lord healed was “ one possessed with a devil, 
blind and dumb.” This cure, more than all the rest, quite asto- 
nished the people, and they said that Christ was certainly “ the 
Son of David,” meaning the Messiah, for he was to spring from 
David, and so Christ was his son. The Pharisees heard of this 
cure, but they said Christ did it by the aid of the false god Beel- 
zebub, whom they styled “ the prince of devils.” Now, the devil 
does much evil, but never any good, and it was the height of 
malice to accuse Christ of doing that by the power of the devil 
which every one, whose heart was not obstinately set against him, 
must have seen was done by the power of God. This was so 
wicked that our Lord passes sentence against these hardened men, 
and since they sinned against the Holy Ghost — the Spirit of God 
• — in saying that the devil did what none but the Almighty could 
do, he declared that such could have no pardon. Their hearts being 
steeled against conviction were equally steeled against repentance. 

Some Scribes and Pharisees having now surrounded him, asked 
him to give them some other signs, besides those which he had 
given, before they would believe in him. But, what other signs 
could they want ? Had he not done enough 1 How obstinate a 
thing is unbelief? Lord, soften our hearts to believe in thee ! 
Let them not be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin ! Christ 
would not gratify their vain curiosity, but he tells them that they 
shall have one sign more, and that as Jonas, or Jonah, was three 
days and three nights in the whale’s belly, so shall the Son of 
Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. By 
this he meant his resurrection from the dead — the greatest proof 
that he was the Messiah. Then, as he was speaking of Jonah, he 
told them that they, the Pharisees, were so obstinate and wicked, 
that even the men of Nineveh would rise up against them as wit- 
nesses in the day of judgment, and condemn them, for they had 
repented at the preaching of Jonah, while they, the Pharisees, re- 
mained impenitent, though a greater than Jonas was there. 1 
must here observe that Jonah is the Hebrew name of that pro- 
phet, but Jonas the name he bore among the Greeks. 






884 child’s commentator. 


The Queen of the South, that is, the Queen of Sheba, would 
also rise up as a witness against them ; for when she heard of 
Solomon’s wisdom, she went very far to hear him herself, but 
they would not believe in him, the Wisdom of God, who was 
present with them, and was far greater than Solomon. 


THE THIRTEENTH CHAPTER OF ST. MATTHEW. 

Parables — The Sower — The Tares — The Mustard-seed — The 
Leaven — The Hidden Treasure — The Pearl — The Net. 


“ All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables.” — 
Verse 34. 


We now come to our Lord’s parables ; and they are very in- 
, teresting indeed, as well as instructive. But do you know what 

*=j; a parable means? It is a sort of fable, and by feigned stories, 

teaches us true things. Parable sometimes has other meanings in 
Scripture, but this is the meaning of our Lord’s parables. You 
have, perhaps, been amused with ^Esop’s or Gay’s Fables, and 
they teach us many good lessons about how we should conduct 
ourselves in going through the world ; but our Lord’s Parables 
teach us how we may find a better world. The finest fables are 
comparatively nonsense by the side of Christ’s Parables. They 
are so simple, so natural, so tender, so beautiful — and yet some 
of them are so grand. 

The first parable in this chapter is that called “ the Sower.” 
You may read it from the third to the eighth verse ; and then in 
the ninth there is a demand made upon us to give great attention 
to it, “ Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.” 

The substance of this parable is as follows: a sower cast some 
seed into the ground, but it did not all take root, and so only 
some of it boro fruit. Some fell on the beaten path-way, and the 
birds picked it up ; some fell upon parts that were rocky, and it 
could not take root, for there was not earth enough to allow of 









child’s commentator. 


887 


the roots striking, and to give them nourishment, and so the sun 
soon burnt the dried-up blade, and the whole plant died ; “ some 
fell among thorns,” and, as weeds, and wild plants, and trees, 
grow apace, they sprung up faster than the sown seeds, and 
choked it up, that it had neither room nor air to grow ; the seed 
was, however, not all lost, for “ other fell into good ground, and 
brought forth fruit,” a hundred grains, or sixty grains, or thirty 
grains, for one. 

Our Lord himself explains this parable from the eighteenth to 
the twenty-third verses, which you can also read. The sower was 
himself, and it may also mean every minister of his gospel ; the 
seed which he sows when he preaches, is the best of seed — God's 
word . The ground on which he sow r s is the heart . Now, when 
he sows, sometimes “ the wicked one” comes and takes away the 
seed ; and, when we do not pa)? attention, we let the devil get into 
our minds, and like the little birds with the seed, he carries away 
from us all the good we might get. At other times we hear the 
word with great pleasure ; we are delighted to think on the good- 
ness, and lQve, and mercy, of God. The kindness and love of God 
our Saviour makes us feel as if we could hear about him always ; 
but, if any wicked persons find fault with us that we are too re- 
ligious, then we are in danger of minding what they say, and of 
thinking too lightly of the joy we felt when we heard the gracious 
truths of the blessed gospel ; and so we are like the stony-ground 
hearers, for the seed withers in our hearts, instead of taking root. 
At other times, we let bad, foolish, and vain thoughts, enter into 
our minds while we are hearing, and these become so numerous 
that there is not room for any thing better to enter. Then it is, 
that the word in our hearts resembles the seed sown among 
thorns. I fear, if you ask yourself how you often hear the word, 
you will find that you are too much like the thorny-ground hear- 
er. But, if we hear the word, if we understand it, and if we 
bring forth fruit, and are holy in our thoughts and lives, then the 
good seed takes root, and we show that we have not received it 
in vain. We ought to feel very much grieved, that, when God’s 
servants sow the good seed, so small a portion of it takes root 
in our hearts. 

33 




888 


child’s commentator. 


** OA 1 frequent thy holy place, 

And hear almost in vain ; 

How small a portion of thy grace 
My memory doth retain I 

a 

* Great God, thy sovereign power ilnpart 
To give thy word success ; 

Write thy salvation in my heart, 

And make me learn thy grace !” 

The next parable is, “ The Wheat and Tares.” You may read 
t from the twenty-fourth to the thirtieth verse. Our Lord likens 
the kingdom of heaven to a man who, after sowing good seed in 
his field, finds it mixed with tares, a weed that chokes up the 
wheat ; which an enemy had sown in the night-time. When the 
tares sprung up, the servants, who knew that their master had 
sown nothing but good seed, wondered to see the tares among it, 
and went and told him, and asked him if they should pull them 
up. But he told them to “let both grow together until the har- 
vest,” and then he would burn the tares and save the wheat. 

You will often find our Lord using the expression, “the king- 
dom of heaven.” But he does not mean by it, the state of bless- 
edness to which all that are made holy go when they die. That, 
too, is the kingdom of heaven, which we may call the kingdom of 
heaven above ; but there is a kingdom of heaven beloio. All that 
hear the gospel are within the boundaries of this kingdom. Christ, 
in his gospel, asks them to become his subjects ; and those who 
submit to his laws in this kingdom below , are prepared for the 
kingdom above. There are, however, many that do not submit 
to them ; these are mixed with those that do, and are like bad 
seed among the good. Well, they must both grow together now, 
but they will not always grow together. The day of judgment 
is coming, and that will be the harvest. Then the wicked will 
be burned, and the good will be laid up like precious wheat, a9 
treasure in a store house. Our Lord being asked by his disciples 
to explain this parable, has done so in the thirty-sixth and follow- 
ing verses, where the meaning is more particularly pointed out. 

We have then a short parable of “ The Treasure.” It is all 
contained in the forty-fourth verse. A man spies a treasure in a 
field — perhaps a mine which nobody has ever found out — and he 
is so eager to get the treasure that lie goes directly and sells 


E 



child’s commentator, 889 

every thing that he has, and buys the field. In the kingdom of 
heaven there is a rich treasure. The gospel is the field where it is 
to be found. Here are “ durable riches.” If we seek diligently 
we shall discover something better than gold and silver, for gold 
and silver will leave the soul poor at last; but the treasure of the 
gospel we may carry with us w hen we die. Treasure is any thing 
valuable, and in the gospel we find what is most valuable. To a 
guilty sinner who knows his guilt, pardon is a treasure worth 
millions of worlds ; to a dying man who sees the dark grave be- 
fore him, “life and immortality” are treasures of the most pre- 
cious kind, and these “ are brought to light by the gospel.” Oh, 
who would not find these treasures ! Dear young reader, “ seek, 
and ye shall find.” 

In the next tw r o verses, we have another parable of “ The Mer- 
A chantman.” He was trying to find out some goodly pearls, that 
Jj he might gain by them ; and at last, he met w ith one, and parted 

with every thing he had that he might get it for himself. Mer- 
! g chants in the East travel about very much for the purpose of pro- j 

l curing precious stones and pearls ; and in such a case as that sup- t 

posed, a merchant might have to take great pains, and go a great 
> way to sell all, in order to buy the one precious pearl. Now’, 
what is the pearl of great price? All the people in the world are 
busy trying to get rich; but here is a treasure which if they do 
not find, they will at last be miserably poor. Ask the real Chris- 
tian, my dear reader, and he will tell you at once : 

“ Christ is the pearl of greatest price 
My heart exulting sings, 

For I this precious pearl have found, 

And scorn all meaner things.” 

“ Jesus Christ,” says Mr. Henry, “ is a pearl of great price, a 
jewel of inestimable value, which will make those that have it 
rich, truly rich, towards God : in having him, we have enough to 
make us happy here, and for ever.” Those that feel assured 
Christ is theirs, are always happy, come what will. If they are 
poor, yet they are happy, having Christ, for they then possess 
“all things;” and they know that all things that are really good 
for them are bestowed upon them : and if they are rich, they 



890 



child’s commentator. 


& 


value Christ as their best treasure. Other things may appear 
very valuable now, but when people come to die they must leave 
them all behind, and then they see how little they are worth. 
Hence, many good men when they were dying have said, “ None 
but Christ, none but Christ.” 

The parable of “The Net” follows next. Jt is in the forty-sev- 
enth and following verses. It is similar to the wheat and the 
tares, only here they are changed to good and bad fishes which 
are caught in a net, and when drawn ashore the good are pre- 
served, and the bad cast away. After explaining the wheat and 
the tares, you will at once see the meaning of this parable. 

Then comes “ The Householder.” “ Every Scribe which is in- 
structed into the kingdom of heaven, is like unto a man that is 
an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things 
new and old.” The teachers among the Jews were scribes. Our 
Lord, therefore, was now bringing up his disciples to be teachers, 
and he meant by this, that if they were good teachers, they would 
be like a good householder, who had both old and new things to j 

set at his table. Parables are agreeable things ; they have a new * 

form, and entertain as well as instruct. I would ask you, my 
readers, as Christ asked his disciples, “ Have you understood all i 

these things?” I have taken pains to explain them, and 1 hope ' 

you will take some pains to understand and remember them. 

We are told, at the close of this chapter, that people were every 
where astonished at Christ’s wisdom ; especially were they sur- 
prised who heard him speak where he was brought up. Ilis re- 
puted father was a carpenter ; and they said, “ Is not this the car- 
penter’s son ?” Some persons are such bigots that they think if 
a man is not born of high rank, he can know nothing. Men of 
high rank have, indeed, the opportunity of getting more knowl- 
edge than those who labour for their bread, but they do not al- 
ways use that opportunity well ; and many a poor man, with good 
gifts bestowed upon him by God, and with a thirst after knowl- 
edge, may be much wiser than a rich one. But, the knowledge 
of Christ was that of the Son of God. Yet, because he did not 
take the form of a rich man, but “ for our sakes became pool,” 
the silly people thought it strange that he should know so much. 






CHRIST BLESSING LITTLE CHILDREN. 



and be able to teach the way to heaven, even better than the 
learned scribes. “And they were.offended in him.” They did 
not like to be taught by him, and so, as they despised his teach- 
ing, “ he did not many mighty works there, because of their un- 
belief.” 


THE FOURTEENTH CHAPTER OF BT. MATTHEW. 

The Martyrdom of John the Baptist — Christ feeds the multitude — 
Christ walks on the sea. 

“Mighty works do show forth themselves in him.” — Ver. 2. 

! The first thing that is related in this chapter, is the martyrdom 
of John the Baptist. Pie was killed by Herod the Tetrarch. This 
\ was not the Herod who killed the infants of Bethlehem, but one 

j of his sons. That Herod Mas called Herod the Great, but this 

I f was called Herod Antipater. When his father died he divided 

| the kingdom into four parts among his four sons, and this son had 

I Galilee, of which he was tetrarch, that word signifying that he 
had a fourth part of the government. 

This Plerod, like his father, was a bad man. His brother Philip 
having lost his power and retired into private life, Herod lured 
away his wife Plerodias, who, being a wicked woman, was easily 
induced to leave Philip, and married Herod. John the Baptist 
had boldly reproved him for this crime, and he cast John direct- 
ly into prison, and, indeed, would have killed him at once ; but 
as John was esteemed by the people as a great prophet, he fear- 
ed that they might rise and rebel, and so he contented himself 
with confining him. 

At last his death was determined. Herod kept his birth-day 
with all the splendour of a prince, and there was a merry dance. 
Among the rest, “ the daughter of Herodias was there.” She, too, 
had deserted her unfortunate father. I am not then surprised 
that she could be guilty of the cruelty she afterwards displayed, 




894 child’s commentator. 

for she seems to have been an apt scholar in following the wicked 
example of her mother. This young creature danced before the 
court, and Herod was so’ much delighted that she should be pre- 
sent to countenance his evil connexion with her mother, that he 
praised her much for her dancing; and perhaps she might indeed 
have been very superior in the art, and so this allowed him the 
better to flatter her. He probably thought, also, that he should 
please her mother by the compliment ; and, to show his satisfac- 
tion, he declared, with an oath, that she should have any thing 
she asked, even to the half of his kingdom : not that he would 
have given half his kingdom away, but this was an Eastern method 
of speaking, which allowed the person to whom it was addressed 
to ask a very great favour. You remember that Ahasuerus made 
the same promise to Esther. Esther, however, saved many lives 
by her request ; but this w r retched young creature asked tor the 

I t j life of one of the most excellent of men ; she asked for the head 

I of John the Baptist. Her mother urged her on to make this re- 

quest, but she was as wicked as her mother in making it. When 
1 t we are told to sin, even a parent’s commands are not to be obeyed, 
because God is above our parents, and all sin is an offence against 
God. This was a great sin, to demand the life of an innocent 
man. His only offence was for reproving what she and her mother 
knew to be wickedness. It was not, however, enough that she 
should ask the head of John the Baptist, but she must have it in 
a charger, or large dish. This was to satisfy her mother that 
there was no delay, but that John was actually put to death ; and 
also to prevent Herod changing his mind, that, on more sober re- 
flection, his heart should not shrink back from the murder. The 
Evangelists say “ the king was sorry ; nevertheless, for the oath’s 
sake,” he granted the request. Such an oath had better have been 
broken than kept. The deed was a far more wicked thing than 
breaking his word. However, he “sent and beheaded John in 
the prison and the young Salome took the head and handed it 
to her mother, who satisfied her evil eyes with the sight of her 
faithful reprover’s countenance, quiet in death. Some think that 
this was all a plot ; that Herod’s admiration of Salome’s dancing, 
and his oath, and her request, and his sorrow at it, were all feign- 




ed ; and that to avoid displeasing the people, he contrived to she! 
ter himself by these contrivances. No doubt, at the moment, they 
were all well pleased to get rid of so bold a monitor; for the 
wicked do not usually like to be told of their sins. However, 
conscience would sting, for our sins will sometime or other be 
sure to find us out ; and one proof of it was, that when Herod 
heard of the “ mighty works” done by Jesus, he was quite alarm- 
ed, and feared that it was John the Baptist come again to life. 
This alarm was, indeed, without any reason, for John never per- 
formed any miracles; but still when he heard of the wonderful 
deeds of Christ, he could think of no other than the murdered 
John. A guilty conscience is the most distressing enemy in the 
world. Oh, let us fear to sin against God, and dread to injure 
those who faithfully serve him, lest our consciences should be- 
come our enemies, and torture us like that of Herod. 

And now for awhile Ilerod, Herodias, and Salome, were most 
likely at ease, — for conscience often goes to sleep, but only to 
wake again in a greater fright ; but at last it must have been let 
loose upon them like a roaring lion, when God punished them for 
their sins. History tells us that when Herod had put away his 
lawful wife to make room for Herodias, Aretas king of Petrea,— 
who was father of the former, — made war against Herod, and to- 
tally destroyed his army. . Moreover, at the instigation of the 
wicked Herodias, he tried to dethrone his brother Agrippa. who 
ranked higher than he, bearing the royal title, and not that of Te- 
trafeh. Agrippa, however, outwitted him, and procured his ban- 
ishment to Lyons, where he and Herodias disgracefully died. 
Salome is also reported to have come to an awful end, and if she 
had a moment for thought, she must have remembered her cruel- 
ty to John the Baptist; for going over the ice in winter, it is said 
the ice broke, and she slipped in up to her neck, and her head 
was cut oft* by the sharpness of the ice. “ Thus,” says a great 
writer, “ God required her head for that of John the Baptist, 
which, if true, was a remarkable providence.” 

These stories, you must remember, are not in the Scriptures, 
for then we should not doubt a word about their truth ; but other 
history is liable sometimes to be altered very much, and so we 




896 child’s commentator. 

cannot always fully rely upon it. Most likely, however, these 
statements of history are not far from the exact truth. 

John’s disciples took the body of their master, and gave it a 
decent burial. 

When Jesus heard that John was cruelly put to death, he left 
the place to avoid Herod, for he had yet many works of mercy 
to do before he should leave the world. On his departure mul- 
titudes followed him, and “ he healed their sick.” 

Having led them into a desert place, the people were very hun- 
gry and weary, and Jesus felt compassion for them. But there 
were no less than** five thousand men, besides women and children 
and how were so many to be fed 1 All that the disciples had were 
five loaves and two fishes; and what were they among so many ? 

, i With Jesus nothing was impossible. “ He commanded the multi- 
|| tude to sit down on the grass, and took the five leaves and the 

| two fishes, and, looking up to heaven, he blessed and brake, and 

: gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.” 

You see Jesus would not take a meal without looking up to heaven 
for a blessing. I hope you always do the same, and that not in a 
hurried or thoughtless manner, but in a serious way, as though 
you were in earnest. It is wicked to trifle with God. “ And 
they did all eat, and were filled; and they took up of the frag- 
ments twelve baskets-full.” This was, indeed, a miracle ; and no 
one could have done this, if he had not had power from on high. 

Jesus now dismissed the multitude, and sent his disciples across 
the sea of Galilee, while he went up into a mountain to pray. 
Jesus prayed ! Do you pray, or merely say your prayers 1 for 
there is a great difference ; we may say prayers, and never think 
about what we are saying ; never feel our need of what we ask. 
We have need to pray, “ Lord, teach us to pray!” 

In the midst of this night the ship in which the disciples were 
sailing was overtaken with a violent storm, and they were in the 
greatest danger of going to the bottom. The Jews divided the 
night into four parts, relieving their guards on the watch-towers 
every three hours, and so they reckoned time by these watches. 




CHILDS COMMENTATOR. 


897 


“ And in the fourth watch of the night,” which was between three 
and six in the morning, Jesus went to the disciples, “ walking on 
the sea” — another proof of his divine pow*er, who could make the 
sea, where he pleased to tread, as solid as the earth itself. The 
disciples were more frightened at the appearance of Christ than 
at the storm ; but Christ spoke kindly to them. And Peter, hav- 
ing asked his leave, went to meet him on the water, for he could 
make it as firm for Peter as for himself. Peter went a little way, 
but his faith in Christ’s power failed him, and he began to sink ; 
and then he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Jesus caught him by 
the hand, lifted him up, reproved him for his want of faith, and 
led him safely to the ship. As soon as they were in the ship the 
sea was calm. All the passengers and crew saw most plainly 
that Jesus possessed nothing less than Almighty powrer, to do 
what he did, and they then “came and worshipped him, saying, 
Of a truth thou art the Son of God.” 

After this they landed in Gennesaret, where Christ performed 
more miracles. 


THE FIFTEENTH CHAPTER OF 6T. MATTHEW. 

Christ rebukes the Pharisees for teaching unkindness to parents — 
Cures the daughter of the Syro- Phoenician woman — Feeds the 
second multitude. 

“ Then came to Jesus Scribes and Pharisees which were of Jeru- 
salem.” — Ver. 1. 


The fame of our Lord’s doings so much vexed the Scribes and 
Pharisees, who hated Christ, because he reproved their sins, and 
exposed their hypocrisy, that some of them are supposed to have 
been sent from the Sanhedrim,— or council of them that sat at 
Jerusalem as a sort of Parliament, — in order to watch his conduct, 
and examine him, and discover some fault in him before the peo- 
ple. 



398 ch'ild’6 commentator. 

Having observed that his disciples never washed their hands 
just before their meals — which was a custom they taught them- 
selves, as being in their view very religious — they asked Christ 
why he allowed his disciples to neglect it. Christ, in return, ask- 
ed them a question, which was at the same time a keen answer 
to their inquiry. He wished to know why they observed the 
commandments of men, and yet broke God’s commandments tc 
honour father and mother. For they did so when they taught 
that any man might deny his parents help if they were poor and 
wanted it, if he only said Corban, a word signifying a gift, to any 
thing they asked ; which then meant that that thing was devoted 
to the service of God, and was to be given for religious purposes. 

Now this was very base, cruel to the parents, disobedient to 
the law of God, and raising the word of men above it, by making 
their law about Corban above his commandment ; and it was hy- 
pocritical, pretending to give to God what they did not like to 
give to their parents. 

Then our Lord called the people around him, and showed the 
iniquity of these Pharisees, that their doctrine was vile, which set 
aside the commandments of God, and that it was not the meat 
going in at the mouth that defiled a man, even though he might 
not eat it with clean hands, but that which came out of a 
mail’s mouth defiled him — his evil doctrines and words, which 
sprung from his evil thoughts, as they also sprung from an evil 
heart. 

The Pharisees could say nothing in reply, but were sadly 
offended, and as they: were an obstinate set of men, our Lord told 
his disciples to let them alone, and have nothing to say to them ; 
for they were blind in their understandings, and the people that 
followed them were also blind ; and if a blind man lead a blind 
man, why then both must fall into the ditch. That is if the peo- 
ple would hear such teachers in preference to himself, they must 
take the consequence, and be ruined. 

Jesus now left the land of Gennesaret and went into the coasts 
or hol'd ers of Tyre and Sidon, two principal cities of Phoenicia, a 
renowned country at that time.* And a woman of Canaan, or 






CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 

could help her, and she still pleaded with him. “ Truth, Lord," 
said she, “ yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their 
master’s table.” As if she had said, I own all this, I am a Gen- 
tile, and thy favours belong to the Jews; I am no better than a 
dog, for I feel that I am a vile creature before thee who knowest 
the heart — a miserable sinner — yet as dogs may pick up the 
crumbs, though they may not sit at their master’s table, so in 
mercy grant me this smallest favour, and I shall be happy ; the 
least mercy from thee is better than the greatest favour in the 
world, and a crumb of thy mercy will do more for me than all 
the world can do. 

Christ had now fully shown her faith — he commended it — he 
granted her request, and he cured her daughter. 

This story teaches us to be earnest and persevering in prayer, 
and, though ever so vile, a gracious Saviour will at last have 
mercy on us. 

From the coasts of Tyre and Sidon Jesus went to the sea of 
Galilee— to the parts near it; and there, upon a mountain, he 
was visited by “ great multitudes,” and he cured numbers in all 
sorts of disorders. There were at this time four thousand men 
with him, “ beside women and children.” After being on the 
mountain for three days, and using the little provision they might 
have with them, they needed some refreshment ; and here again 
Jesus performed a great miracle, and multiplied seven loaves 
and a few little fishes, so that “they did all eat and were filled. 
And they took up of the broken meat that was left seven bas- 
kets-full.” 

After this he removed to Magdala, a place not far from Tibe- 
rias, and after which it is thought Mary Magdalen was named, of 
whom we shall by and by read. 





child’s commentator. 


901 


THE SIXTEENTH CHAPTER OF ST. MATTHEW. 

The Pharisees and Sadducees tempt Christ— Peter's Confession 
about Christ. 

u The Pharisees also, with the Sadducees, came, and tempting, 
desired him that he would show them a sign from heaven.” 


— Ver. 1. 



The Pharisees and Sadducees now came to Christ to try him 
again, and as he bad done so many miracles, they asked him to 
show them some sign from heaven, such as making the sun and 
moon stand still, like Joshua; or raining manna, as in the days 
of Moses. But Jesus wmuld not give them any more proofs of 
his divine power, after he had performed miracles enough to con- 
vince any honest mind that he w r as the Son of God ; and which, 
if they had not themselves seen, they must have heard of from so 
many others, that it was the most wicked obstinacy not to believe. 
So he only told them that they could know the weather by the 
look of the sky, as we do ; when it appears bright, w e say, “ it 
will be a fine day and when cloudy, we say, “it will rain 
and if they would use their senses as much respecting the com- 
ing of the Messiah, they would “ discern the signs of the times,” 
and that many things were taking place which the prophets fore- 
told should happen when Messiah should visit the world. 

Then Christ left them, and warned his disciples against these 
wdcked men, telling them to “ bew'are of the leaven of the Pha- 
risees, and of the Sadducees,” meaning their doctrines, which 
they must beware not to take in, or they would poison their 
minds, as bad bread would their bodies. 


When Christ came to Cesarea Philippi, or Baneas, he put 
his disciples’ faith to the test ; and after asaing them what the 
people in general thought and said about himself, he put the 
question to them, “ But whom say ye that I am V He knew' W'elJ 



902 


child’s commentator 


all that men said, but he asked the question to lead to the secona 
question, by which he might get a confession of their faith, after 
all they had seen him doi Peter, who was always forward in 
speaking, said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God !” 
that is, thou art the anointed by the Holy Spirit of God, to be 
the King of thy spiritual people Israel ; — the true Messiah, and 
iaot a mere man, but the divine Son of God. Jesus then com- 
mended his faith, and for the information of the disciples around, 
told him that such knowledge was only given from heaven. Many 
saw Christ do his miracles, but they did not see his divine glory 
as Peter did. On this rock, on the dignity and glory of Christ, 
the Son of God, as on a sure rock, will he build his church ; on 
him all believers rest, who are what make up his church, and hell, 
with all its powers, shall not prevail against it. Christ told Peter 
also that he would give him the keys of the kingdom of heaven. 
You know that I told you, in explaining the parables, what the 
kingdom of heaven meant, and that all that heard the gospel were 
in the boundaries of this kingdom, so that it means the spiritual 
privileges which Christians enjoy in this w r orld, as well as their 
happy state in the next. Now, there are no keys used in this 
kingdom ; the expression is what we call a figure of speech. The 
keeper of the key of a city is a person of authority, and when 
Christ told Peter he would give him the keys of the kingdom of 
heaven, and whatsoever he should bind on earth should be bound 
in heaven, and so on ; he merely meant that he wo.uld entrust 
him, as his faithful servant, with the preaching of his gospel, so 
that he should have authority to explain what was his truth, since 
he had so nobly declared it, and what, under the guidance of his 
Spirit, he declared to be so, should be so, and whatsoever he 
declared not to be so, should not be so. 

Christ then commanded his disciples to be still for the present, 
*nd not to make him known as “ the Christ, the Son of the living 
God for, had they done so, the Jews would have proclaimed him 
as their king, but he came into the world for a very different pur- 
pose than that of reigning as earthly monarch. From this 
time, therefore, he more fully explained to his disciples why it was 
that he would not be an earthly king, and that he must s uffer, ts 




MAT. XVIII 


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child’s commentator. 905 

killed, and raised again the third day. Peter, indeed, could not 
bear to hear of this, for he loved his Master, and could not with- 
out grief think of his suffering, besides which, he would rather 
have seen him king over the Jews. But our Lord reproved him, 
and said, “ Get thee behind me, Satan !** intimating that the evil 
spirit had suggested the thought of opposing his final suffering, 
for with that he was to triumph over Satan’s kingdom. 

lie then warned his disciples of the great dangers to which 
they would be liable if they were true to his cause, and that they 
must always consider themselves like men having a cross to carry, 
on which they were to be executed, an allusion they well under- 
stood as a mode of execution then in practice. Thanks be to God, 
our lives are not in danger in our happy country from any attach- 
ment we may avow to Christ; but if we are steady and consistent 
followers of the commands of Jesus, we shall find the wicked 
world still hating us, though they dare not kill us. Irreligious 
people do not in their hearts love those who sincerely love Christ. 


THE SEVENTEENTH CHAPTER OF 6T. MATTHEW. 

The Transfiguration of Christ. 

“And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his 
brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart, 
and was transfigured before them.” — Ver. 1. 


This chapter informs us about what is called, “The Transfigu- 
ration.” It took place on a high mountain, in the presence of 
Peter, James, and John. Jesus gradually discovered his power 
and glory to his disciples. Here the Son of God exhibited him- 
self in great splendour, and showed that if he had the form of a 
man, he only dwelt in human flesh. He “was transfigured before 
them.” To transfigure is to pass over to another form. Not that 
the shape or substance of our Lord’s body received any alteration, 
but his whole appearance became heavenly instead of earthly. 


906 


child’s commentator. 


“ His face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as tba 
light.” He was all over covered with rays of glory. 

There also attended upon him Moses and Elias, or Elijah, the 
chief of the law and the chief of the prophets. Moses had left 
the world fifteen hundred years before, and Elijah had been trans- 
lated to heaven nine hundred years. Thus these glorified persons 
paid homage to him who was the only perfect doer of the law, 
and the great person who was the theme of all the prophets, for 
“ to him gave all the prophets witness.” 

The disciples were much delighted to see their Divine Master 
covered with such glory ; and Peter, who was always very im- 
pulsive, did but express the feelings and wishes of all their 
liearts, when he said, “Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou 
wilt, let us make here three tabernacles ; one for thee, and one 
for Moses, and one for Elias ;” — such booths as were made of 
the branches of trees, and were used to live in during the feast of 
tabernacles. Peter did not like to leave the mount, but would 
feast his eyes still longer on the rapturous sight with which he 
was indulged ; yet he ghowed that he had hardly thought enough j 
on what he said, for what did glorified saints want with taberna- 
cles to dwell in on earth ? 

But what was the design of this display of Christ’s glory ? It 1 
was to confirm the faith of his disciples in Him as the Son of 
God, and to enable them to speak with greater confidence respect- 
ing him, when they should hereafter preach him, than they could 
merely from seeing his miracles. Those miracles, indeed, showed 
great power, but Moses and Elias had done miracles, and though 
Christ’s were performed in his own name and by his own authority, 
while theirs were done in the name of the Most High God — which 
showed he was far above them — yet, this transfiguration proved 
him beyond all doubt to be a Divine Person. Glorified saints 
paid no such respect to mortals. No mere man was ever sur- 
rounded with such glory, not even Moses when his shining face 
dazzled the people after he had conversed with God on the 
mount. And then “ a bright cloud overshadowed them,” and a 
voice from heaven proclaimed the Lord’s dignity, “This is my 
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased ; hear ye him.” 


child’s commentator. 


907 


This enabled the disciples to speak boldly about the dignity of 
Jesus, and to declare that he was more than a mere man. A long 
time after, when Christ had been crucified, Peter bore this wit- 
ness concerning him : “ We have not followed cunningly devised 
fables,” meaning idle and fanciful stories, “ when we made known 
unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but 
were eye-witnesses of his majesty that is, we did not go by 
hear-say of what others saw, but we saw him in his glory our 
selves. “ For he received from God the Father honour and glo- 
ry, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glo- 
ry, Ibis is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And 
this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with 
him in the holy mount.” 

So you see the reason of this transfiguration : it was to enable 
the disciples to tell others of what they had seen and heard about 
the glory of Christ, that they might believe in him too. In de- 
claring these truths they laid down their lives rather than give 
them up ; and ♦hey have left them for us also to believe. After 
this, we cannot think too highly of Christ. He is “ the brightness 
of the Father’s glory and in heaven he is “the light thereof.” 

The disciples were struck with awe at this grand sight, and 
fell on their faces ; but Jesus encouraged them to rise, and then 
Moses and Elias had disappeared, and his glory no longer shone, 
and he was as before. But he told them to keep all these things 
secret till his work on earth was done. 

We next read of Christ curing a lunatic who had been brought 
to the nine disciples while the three were on the mount, but they 
could not cure him. “And Jesus rebuked the devil,” with which 
he was troubled, “ and he departed out of him.” Our Lord blamed 
his disciples that they had not done the same; for, though they 
could not by their own power, yet by faith in him they could cure 
him. 

Again our Lord reminded them that he must be killed and rise 
again. This was intended to prepare his disciples for that 
awful event when it came to pass. 

In this chapter we also read of Christ’s paying the tribute mo- 
ney at Capernaum. This was a half shekel paid yearly, for the 


903 


child’s commentator. 


service of the temple. As he was the Son of God he was not 
liable to pay a tribute, but, lest offence should be taken on ac- 
count of his refusal, he preferred to do it. Yet it appears, he 
who had the world at his command, chose to be so humble and 
poor for our sakes, that he had not the small sum wherewith to 
pay this tribute money. So he worked a miracle to obtain it. 
He chose so to do, to show his disciples that if he was poor, it 
was not because he was obliged to be so, but because he chose 
to be so, and to give them additional proofs that he knew all 
things, and could do all things. He knew that in the midst of 
the sea there was a fish that had swallowed the sum of money he 
wanted, and he told Peter to go and cast in his hook, and catch 
him, and pay with the money the tax that was demanded for him 
and Peter. 


TIIE EIGHTEENTH CHAPTER OF 6T. MATTHEW. 

Christ teaches humility , kindness , self-denial , and forgiveness of i| 
injuries . i 

u Whosoever, therefore, shall humble himself as this little child, /] 
the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” — Ver. 4. 1 

Christ here teaches us not to be proud. His disciples asked 
him, “ Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven Our 
Lord knew their thoughts, he knew also that they had been talk- 
ing to each other about this subject. They did not yet clearlv 
understand that his kingdom was to be a spiritual kingdom; and 
supposing that he would yet reign over the Jews in Jerusalem, 
they had almost quarrelled among themselves about who had tHe 
right to be his chief officers in managing his government. 

“Peter was always the chief speaker, and already had the keys 
given him, and he expects to be Lord Chancellor, or Lord Cham- 
berlain of the Household, and so to be the greatest. Judas had 
the bag, an 1 therefore he expects to be Lord Treasurer ; which, 
though now he come last, he hopes will then denominate him the 
greatest. Simon and Jude are nearly related to Christ, and they 




child’s COMMENTATOR. 


909 


hope to take place of all the great officers of state, as princes of 
the blood. John is the beloved disciple, the favourite of the 
prince, and, therefore, hopes to be the greatest. Andrew was first 
called, and, therefore, why should he not be preferred 1 

Mr. Henry supposes that some such thoughts as these passed 
between them when they asked Christ to settle the matter. A 
little child happened to be near, and Jesus took and set him in 
the midst of them, and told them that unless they were as humble 
as that little child they could never enter into his kingdom — the 
kingdom of heaven, and that the humblest among them was the 
greatest. 

See, then, from this, what Jesus thinks of pride. Pride of 
relationship, pride of abilities, pride of dress, — all kinds of pride, 
would have been rebuked by our meek and lowly Saviour. A 
. little child has no pride, neither should we have it. What ! 

f pensioners on God’s bounty for daily bread be proud 1 Sinners*be 

j proud ? God forbid ! 

; Again, Christ here teaches us not to give offence. We should 

5 be careful, as much as possible, to offend nobody in any way. But 

the offence of which he here speaks is particularly against his 
1 humble followers and servants. We must not despise one of these 

' his little children, how poor and despised soever he may be by a 

wicked and sneering world. The world will needs despise them, 
for it hates all true religion; it does not always dislike the 
appearance of it, but it cannot bear it when it is decided and sin- 
cere. Such must take the consequence and endure the woe which 
belongs to giving offence. 

Christ also here teaches us self-denial, to part with things that 
we even dearly love, rather than lose our souls. He tells us that 
we are to cut off our hand and foot, and pluck out our eye, rather 
than let them stand in the way of our salvation. He does not, 
however, mean that we should really do so, but he does mean that 
whatever hinders it, if it be even as dear to us as these parts of 
our body, we must be ready to give it up. An amusement, though 
ever so delightful, if it leads us into sinful habits and company, 
must be parted with. A friend and companion that would draw 
our hearts away from Christ, though we love him ever so much for 





910 


child’s commentator. 


his kindness in other respects, must also be parted with. Many 
such right hands must be cut off, and many such right eyes must 
be plucked out. 

Another thing here taught is forgiveness of injuries. And this 
is a very hard thing indeed to learn. When Christ talked on 
this subject, Peter wished to know how many times he might be 
offended by another and yet forgive him, — “Seven times'?” said 
he. “ Yes,” said Jesus, “as much as seventy times seven.” It is 
not likely that any one would offend so often as this, so that our 
Lord meant, that we should always be ready to forgive those that 
injure us. It is certain that when w*e can do it, we must have a 
much happier mind than the individuals who have done us harm. 

Our Lord enforces forgiveness by a parable about a steward that 
owed his lord ten thousand talents, and yet he forgave him his 
debt ; but a fellow-servant happening to owe the steward only a 
hundred pence, though he had been so kindly treated by his lord 
under like circumstances, yet cruelly threw his poor fellow-servant 
into prison till he should pay him every farthing. His lord, how r - 
ever, heard of it, and, as the steward’s debt was still due in law, 




to punish him for his cruelty he laid hold of him and threw him 
into prison also. 


God forgives us our sins though they are great as the ten 
thousand talents ; we ought, therefore, surely to forgive the hun- 
dred pence due to us from others, and to pass by their little 
offences, when they are ready to express any sorrow that they have 
done us injury ; and, even if that be not the case, we should not 
render evil for evil, but contrariwise blessing. I have seen a 
hard-hearted man softened by receiving kindness for injuries. 

The parable I have mentioned ends the chapter ; and I should 
like you to read it, and think over it : it begins at the twenty- 
third verse. There is also another parable which I have passed 
over. It is to show the tenderness of Christ to his little ones — 
to his humble followers, who are his little children, and over 
whom he exercises as much care as any tender shepherd over his 
flock. All are watched over by him, and if one go astray, he 
seeks it with the greatest care, and restores it to the number of 











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THE NINETEENTH CHAPTER OF ST. MATTHEW. 

Christ disputes with the Pharisees — receives little Children — con- 
verses unth a rich young Man . 

“ But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not to 
come unto me ; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” — Ver. 14. 


Here we find the Pharisees attacking our Lord again, and ask- 
ing him a question, to try and prejudice the people against him. 
The Jews at that time were very fickle with their wives, and 
fj separated from them for the least trifle. The Pharisees knew 
I that Jesus would condemn this, and as that would displease the 
i S people, they tried to effect their purpose by bringing on a dis- 
\ 1 } course on the subject. Jesus did not evade the question. He 

I always condemned sin in any shape, and he said the Jews were 

wrong, and though Moses allowed of these separations on slight 
grounds, yet it was only because of the hardness of their hearts, 
for if he had not, they would have used their wives cruelly, whom 
they ought to have loved, and so to prevent this evil he allowed 
them to separate. 

The next thing in this chapter to be noticed, is the bringing of 
little children to Christ, that he might bless them, and pray 

over them, as it was usual with the Jews to do. Most likely they 

were parents, or it might be friends, who brought these children 
to Jesus. Children should feel themselves very happy when they 
have parents or friends, who take them to Christ, and ask for his 
blessing upon them. They cannot now do this exactly in the 
same way, for Christ is ascended up into heaven, but they can 
take them in prayer, and though Christ is in heaven, he can still 
bless them there. They can take them to his blessed word, and 
in reading that they will learn what he has to say to them, and 
God will bless them there. And they can take them where he 






914 . child’s commentator. 

lias promised to give his blessing, even where two or three aie 
met together to worship him, and he will still bless them. 



And, indeed, if poor little children have parents that will not 
take any care about their souls, — and I am sorry to say there are 
some such parents as these, — yet still they may go to Christ of 
their own accord. Nobody can hinder them. He can hear what 
their hearts say. They can pray to him, and he will bless them. 
The disciples thought that these parents were troublesome, but 
Christ did not think so, nor will he ever think you troublesome 
for going to him. He says, “Whosoever cometh unto me, I will 
in no wise cast out.” What he said to the disciples he says now, 
“ Suffer little children, and forbid them not to come unto me ; for 
of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Oh, yes, there are thousands 



CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


915 


and tens of thousands of little children singing praises to Jesus in 
heaven, and their praises are as delightful in his ears as those of 
any other glorified spirits, and blend as sweetly with the music of 
angels. 

Another thing here recorded is a conversation of Christ with a 
rich young man, commonly spoken of as “ The Young Man in the 
Gospel.” This young mr*i was desirous of going to heaven, and 
wished to know what he should do to enable him to get there. In 
this respect he was better than some people, who hope to go to 
heaven when they die, but live all their days as if they cared no- 
thing about it. He called Christ “Good Master,” — or good 
Teacher, — but Christ told him there was no one good but God, 
and as he only considered Christ as a teacher, and did not see his 
divine glory, he was wrong to give any human being the title of 
good. 

You will sometimes find Christians using this phrase, “ My Good 
Sir,” or, “ be a good child you must, however, always under- 
stand that it merely means behaviour, and is not intended to 
express any thing sinless in the person so called ; for there is none 
good, no, not one ; we may be well behaved towards each other, 
but we have all by nature very bad hearts. “ In me, that is in 
my flesh,” sa^s the apostle Paul, “dwelleth no good thing.” 

Jesus told this young man, who had no notion of believing in 
him as a Saviour, but only thought of doing something to become 
eternally happy, that if he would keep the commandments, all 
would be right. The young man said that he had kept them all. 
He did, indeed, know but little of his own heart to say so, for a 
wrong thought breaks the commandments, as well as a wrong word 
or deed. He should, as Mr. Henry observes, instead of saying, 
“ All these have I kept, what lack I yet ?” rather have said, with 
shame and sorrow, “ All these have I broken, what shall I do to 
get my sins pardoned?” 

Christ, however, soon put him to the test. He proved that he 
was an idolater, and so broke the very first commandment, “Thou 
shalt have no other gods before me.” He did not, indeed, bow to 
shaped-out idols of gold and silver, as the heathen did, but still 
he loved his gold and silver above every thing besides — he gave 


I 


916 


child's commentator. 


his heart to his riches, and that was sin enough. Jesus told him 
to sell every thing he had, and give to the poor, and follow him. 
Not that Christ requires this of us, he leaves us to enjoy what his 
providence gives us, and be thankful for it; but here was a 
particular case, which put this young man’s heart to the test, foi 
“ when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful : 
for he had great possessions ;” and he could not give these up to 
enter into life. 

After the young man was gone, our Lord showed his disciples, 
from this example, how difficult it was for a rich man to enter 
heaven. Yet there is nothing to prevent a rich man going there, 
but his own idolatrous heart. There is the same way open to him 
as to others, the same Saviour for him as for others. But riches 
allure the heart ; they have many snares, they tempt to many 
dangerou-s enjoyments, they are a trust of which it is hard to keep 
a good account — and so our Lord truly said, “ It is easier for a 
camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to 
enter into the kingdom of God.” That is, it is a great difficulty for 
a rich man, surrounded with the snares of riches, to enter into the 
kingdom — for this is what the words mean ; they are a sort of a 
proverb, like some that we use, as, for instance, when a thing is 
lost, and it is difficult to find it, we say, “You may as well look 
for a needle in a bottle of hay.” 

These remarks must have reconciled the disciples to poverty for 
the sake of their Master, and must since have made many a rich 
man feel cautious and humble, and many a poor man contented 
and happy. 

Poor Peter, as I have told you before, was always ready to speak 
his mind, and often without thinking so much as he should have 
done ; and now he cannot help telling Christ that, at all events, 
he and his brethren were different from this young man, for they 
had left all and had followed him. I must here quote Mr. Henry 
again ; who well remarks, “ Alas ! it was but a poor all that they 
had forsaken; one of them (Matthew) had, indeed, quitted a place 
in the Custom-House ; but Peter and the most of them had only 
left a few boats and nets, and the appurtenances of a poor fishing 
trade ; and yet see, how big Peter there speaks of it, as if it had 


917 



child’s commentator. 

been some mighty thing: ‘Behold, we have forsaken all!’” 
However, what they had left was their all, and Christ accepts of a 
little sacrifice, where we cannot make a great one ; yet it does not 
become us ever to boast of what we do for him ; for v hat do we 
give up, when we think that he gave up his life for us 1 

The disciples of Jesus will never lose by what they give up for 
him; they do but exchange dross for gold. He promised the 
twelve, that they should each sit upon thrones, judging the 
twelve tribes of Israel. Not that there will be thrones in heaven 
as on earth ; but it means that great honour shall be theirs in the 
day of judgment, and they shall agree to the righteous sentence 
of God, when he shall try the world, and pronounce the doom of 
the unbelieving tribes of Israel. 


THE TWENTIETH CHAPTER OF ST. MATTHEW. 

i The Parable of the Labourers in the Vineyard — Christ foretels his 
Sufferings — The Petition of Zebedee's Sons — The two Blind Men. 

“ For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a house- 
holder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers 
into his vineyard.” — Ver. 1. 


This chapter contains four things, which we shall briefly notice 
in the order in which they stand. 

First, — The Parable of the Labourers in the Vineyard. 

Here our Lord compares the kingdom of heaven, — or the season 
of proclaiming the gospel to poor sinners, — to a person who kept 
house and hired servants. Being in want of some to work in his 
vineyard, he “ went out early in the morning to hire labourers.” 

And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a-day, 
he sent them into his vineyard.” Our Lord here means a coin 
called the Koman penny, which was of more value than ours, and 
equal to about fifteen cents of our money; this, indeed, was 
34 




low for wages, but they differ very much in all parts of the world, 
and even in our own country, in some parts not being more than 
half what they are in others. 

Several hours after, the householder went out, and finding more 
labourers wanting work, he hired them also. Three hours after 
that he employed some more to work, and three hours after that 
still more. And now it drew' towards the end of the day. “ And 
about the eleventh hour, and within an hour of finishing work, he, 
seeing some more standing idle, hired them also.” 

After they had done their work he paid them, and gave every 
man a penny ; so that you see he gave just as much to those he 
employed last as to those he employed first, though, of course, 
they had done but very little, while the others had done much 
w T ork. 

Those that had done much work began to complain on seeing 
the others paid as much as they were ; but the good man of the 
house told them they had no right to do so, for he had done them 
no wrong; they agreed to work for a penny, and he had given 
them their penny ; and if he chose to pay the others as much as 
he had paid them, though they had done less, he had a right to 
do as he pleased with his own. 

Now the Jews were very jealous of the Gentiles, or nations not 
of the Jews; and so selfish, that they could not bear to hear of 
the grace of God being bestowed upon them, after they themselves 
had, for so many ages, been ranked among the servants of God. 
This parable was, therefore, to reprove their selfishness, and to 
show that God has a right to do with all nations as, in his grace, 
he pleases; and, also, it teaches us that, if he gives us any mercies, 
and especially the blessings of heaven at last, it is not according 
to what we have done — for our services are but poor at the best — 
but according to his own great generosity and grace. 

People who talk about meriting heaven, know not what they 
talk about. Can any one in his senses imagine that a poor sinful 
creature, whose existence here is, at most, so short, can merit, by 
what he does, an eternity of happiness ? Heaven, my dear young 
reader, is always spoken of as given to us, — we can never earn it. 
All that we have to do is to be diligently concerned about it, and 



child’s commentator. 


919 


occupied in such a manner as will show that God, by his grace, 
is fitting us for it. God’s word will show us if we are doing his 
work ; and if we are not, then we shall have the worst of wages, 
“ for the wages of sin is death.” 

The second thing our Lord here mentions, is the sufferings 
which were coming upon him. These he had twice before named 
to his disciples, and so he prepared their minds for the terrible 
event of his death. He tells here how he shall be betrayed, con- 
demned to death, mocked, scourged, crucified, and then he must 
rise again from the dead. Oh, let us admire the love of Christ 
to us poor sinners, who, though he saw all his sufferings before 
him, did not shrink from them, so that he might accomplish the 
work of our redemption. How much ought we to love him who 
so “ loved us, and gave himself for us !” 

The third thing is a singular petition made to him, through 
their mother, by the sons of Zebedee, James and John, who were 
two of his first disciples. It was proper enough that the sick 
should ask him to be cured, and the blind to receive sight, and, 
indeed, any of the miserable that they might obtain mercy ; for 
“ he w r ent about doing good that was his errand — his delight. 
But, it was a most striking proof, indeed, of the secret pride and 
ambition of the human heart, that these disciples, — and especially, 
with the example of Christ’s humility daily before them, — should 
ask what they did. It was no less than that they should have 
ne first places of honour in his kingdom ; for, though he had 
told them of his death, they seemed either not to understand it, 
or to suppose — which was most probable — that after his death 
he would mount the throne of Judah, and become king of the 
Jews : so they asked that they might sit nearest to him when he 
should be king — the one on his right, and the other on his left 
hand. The right hand of a person of rank was always consider- 
ed to be a place of honour; and Cyrus, the great Persian king, 
of whom we read in Scripture, used to place the guests he val- 
ued near his left hand, because his heart was on that side of him, 
and he thought that being placed near that was a great sign of 
his affection. 

Our Lord replied to the ambitious disciples, — “ Ye know not 



what ye ask.” They were pleasing themselves with the prospect 
of honours, when all the time there was nothing but suffering be- 
fore them. And he said, “ Are ye able to drink of the cup that I 
shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am 
baptized with 1 ?” To this they replied, “We are able.” They 
thought that if they could have the dignity at last, a little pain or 
suffering would be of no consequence in the way. My dear read- 
er, if we were but as eager after making sure of heaven, as these 
disciples were of an honourable place on earth, how wise and 
happy we should be ! and about that our kind Lord has said, 
“Ask, and it shall be given you.” Jesus then let the disciples 
know that they should, indeed, drink of the same cup with him- 
self, and so be partakers of a great honour ; but that cup should 
be sufferings; and, “if we suffer with him, we shall also reign 
with him.” The honours of the kingdom of heaven, were, how- 
ever, not given by him, who was in our flesh, but by his Father, 
God, who is a spirit ; and mortals were not to have their pride 
and curiosity gratified about what he would please to do in hea- 
ven. Many persons ask very inquisitive and impertinent ques- 
tions about heaven, which nobody can answer, if God has not 
made known the answers in the Bible. To inquire the way to 
heaven is quite right, and the Bible is a lamp to show our feet 
the way ; and to learn as much about heaven as the Bible shows 
us, is not only right, but our duty and happiness, but beyond this 
we must not attempt to go. 

rhe other disciples were very angry when they saw how these 
desired to be above them. But Jesus turned the request to their 
advantage ; for he taught his disciples, instead of seeking earthly 
honours, to expect that, in following him, they should endure 
sufferings which, in that period, would be great indeed ; and that 
if any of them wished to be great in his kingdom, the way to be- 
come so was to be useful and humble : thus they w'ould be most 
like Christ himself ; “ for the Son of man came not to be minis- 
tered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for 
many.” 

The fourth thing in this chapter is the petition of two blind 
men, who w^re “ utting by the way side,” and “ when they heard 



BETHANY 








CHRIST DRIVING O'JT THE MONEY-CHANGERS 


child’s commentator. 


923 

that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, 0 
Lord, thou Son of David !” This was a request that Jesus would 
not deny. “ The multitude rebuked them.” Some who were 
his real friends thought, perhaps, that they were troublesome, 
and his enemies did not like their honouring him by calling him 
“ Lord,” and “ Son of David ;” but “ J esus had compassion on 
them, and touched their eyes ; and immediately their eyes re- 
ceived sight, and they followed him.” 

“ Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David !” is a cry 
that Jesus still hears. We cannot do wrong in urging it. If we 
never feel our need of his mercy, we shall never have it. Oh, let 
us lift up our voices to him with the humble and penitent : 

“ Mercy, good Lord, mercy I ask, 

Mercy’s the total sum ; 

For mercy, Lord, is all my suit,— 

Oh, let thy mercy come !” 


THE TWENTY-FIRST CHAPTER OF ST. MATTHEW. 

Christ's triumphant Entry into Jerusalem — Christ drives the Buy- 1 
ers and Sellers out of the Temple — Christ sentences the barren 
Fig-tree — Christ silences the Chief Priests — The Parable of the 
Two Sons — The Parable of the Husbandmen — The Corner 
Stone — The Stone of Punishment. 

“ And the multitude said, This is Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth 
of Galilee.” — Ver. 11. 

“ And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his para- 
bles, they perceived that he spake of them.” — Ver. 45. 


The first thing which is related in this chapter, is the triumph- 
ant entry of Christ into Jerusalem. Hitherto he had travelled 
on foot while “ he went about doing good,” and often was wearied 
in his kind work ; but now he rides in a degree of state, though 
accompanied by none of the pomp of the earth. 



924 child's commentator. 


Having commanded two of his disciples to go into a neighbor- 
ing village, where they would find an ass tied, and a colt with her, 
which they were to bring to him, they did as they were told ; and 
there— as he had said, who knew all things — they found the beasts 
ready for his use. “ And they brought the ass and the colt, and 
put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.” 



Christ was followed by a multitude wherever he went. His 
fame in doing good caused many to go to him to receive benefits, 
and others went to see this wonderful person. These strewed the 
way on which he was to ride, some with their garments, and 
some with branches of trees, among which it is supposed were 
quantities of beautiful roses, which grew in those parts. This 
was a method of paying honour to great persons, and is still 
practised in the same parts of the world, and was intended to b« 



3RSs=s 



child’s commentator. 925 

in honour of Christ. And the people cried, “ Hosanna to the Son 
of David : blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord ; 
Hosanna in the highest !” Hosanna means, “ Save, I beseech,” or 
“ help us, we beseech thee, thou Son of David, the Messiah !” 
words which were used by the people at the feast of Tabernacles. 

Now “all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was 
spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Be- 
hold, thy King, cometh unto thee meek, and sitting upon an ass, 
and a colt the foal of an ass.” By the daughter of Sion, is meant 
Jerusalem, or its people, Sion being the most celebrated part of 
Jerusalem. Here Christ claimed authority, being King over his 
church, and in token of it he rode, as the judges of old, on an ass. 
At this time, indeed, the great, and they only, rode upon horses ; 
so that Christ did not enter Jerusalem in worldly splendour, but 
still he entered it like one bearing a high dignity. And this ful- 
filment of prophecy was one of the many marks which the pro- 
phets gave, by which the Messiah was to be known. Had not 
Christ so gone into Jerusalem, one of the marks to show him as 
the true Messiah would have been wanted ; while every mark 
which so distinguished him was a confirmation of his character 
and office, and so must establish our faith in him. 

Another thing here recorded, is Christ’s entrance into the tem- 
ple, or rather that part of its courts in which were daily sold 
frankincense, oil, wine, and other requisites for sacrifice, such as 
doves, lambs, and oxen. It was near the time of the passover, and 
as many of these were then wanted, the courts were well stocked. 
This custom was most likely in imitation of the heathen, who did 
the same in their temples. But it was profane; it disturbed the 
worship of God ; and while the dealers often cheated the buyers, 
the priests were wicked enough to share in their gains. Among 
the traders were also money-changers ; these were persons who 
accommodated the people with proper coin, for any foreign coin 
which they had taken from any of the neighbouring nations with 
whom they traded, and in so doing they overreached their custom- 
ers, and were guilty of shameful extortions. All these things 
made our Lord very indignant ; he could not bear to see the house 
of God profaned, and such wickedness practised; and he cast out 



926 


child's commentator. 


the dealers, and “ overthrew the tables of the money-changers, 
and the seats of them that sold doves. And said unto them, It is 
written, My house shall be called the house of prayer ; but ye 
have made it a den of thieves — a place as bad as the caves in 
which robbers hid, who infested Judea. 

That Christ should have disturbed these people, and, though 
numerous, have driven them out in the midst of their gains, and 
for the time have spoiled their trade, is a proof that they were 
overawed by something in him, while their own consciences be- 
ing guilty, they were the more easily affrighted when they were 
so attacked. 

Here Christ performed some more of his kind miracles, and 
cured the blind and the lame. No wonder that the people cried 
out, “Hosanna, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord !” 
When they saw such miracles, it was natural that they should 
cry, “ Hosanna,” or, “ Save, I beseech,” and that they should bless 
such a Saviour. And the little children joined in his praises. 
They were in the temple worshipping, we hope, and not playing 
— and their hearts were touched with love to Jesus, and their 
lips could not keep silence. It is sweet to hear children praising 
their Saviour, for then they seem almost to resemble angels, who 
are always praising him. And these children did not, as we hope, 
praise him merely in a thoughtless way, as they would have 
cried Huzza ! but they saw how much there was in him to love, 
and so out of the abundance or fulness of their hearts, their mouth 
showed forth his praise. There is reason to believe that they 
were very sincere, for the chief priests and Scribes, who were 
wicked men, and hated Christ, “ were sore displeased” to hear their 
devout expressions ; and so our Lord reproved them, and said as 
much as that these good children were patterns of divine work- 
manship worthy of imitation: “Jesus saith unto them, Yea; 
have ye not read, Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings thou 
hast perfected praise ?” 

Returning in the morning to Jerusalem, having slept in the 
quiet village of Bethany, which was only two miles from the city, 
it is said “ he hungered.” Jesus hungered ! Think on this ; he 
who was the bread of life was himself hungered ! Yes, dear young 


I 

Ml 


child’s commentator. 


927 



reader, he took our nature to die for us ; and though he was 
without sin, yet he endured the infirmities of our nature ; he 
wept, he was fatigued, he was thirsty, and he hungered. Seeing 
a fig-tree growing in the way, 
he would have refreshed him- 
self with a fig; but though it had 
plenty of fine leaves, it appears 
that it had no fruit, and he 
pronounced sentence upon the 
tree : “ Let no fruit grow on 
thee henceforward for ever. 

And presently the fig-tree with- 
ered away.” This was a sign 
by which he taught his dis- 
ciples that the Jewish nation, 
which made such appearance 
of being as the garden of the 
Lord, were like nothing but 
the fig-tree which bore only leaves, and no fruit. And it teaches 
us also that mere show is not what Christ looks for, but he ex- 
pects us to bear something good, if we profess to bring forth the 
fruits of holiness. 

The disciples wondered when they saw the fig-tree so soon 
withered away at his word ; and then he took occasion to tell 
them that if they had faith in God as firmly as they ought to 
have had it, they might do the same ; but if they prayed without 
firmly believing in God’s power to help them, their prayers would 
fall short of their desired success. True faith can do wonders : 
and if they would say to a mountain, Depart into the midst of 
the sea, it should depart. Not that they would have occasion to 
ask for such a thing as this : God will not do for us what can be 
of no benefit to us, but our Lord meant that difficulties, seem- 
ingly as great as the removal of a mountain, could and would be 
removed by the prayer of faith. What an encouragement this 
is to pray for all things that may be good and necessary for us ! 
“‘Lord, teach us to pray !” 

The chief priests could not let Christ alone, and as soon as he 




had returned to the temple, and began to teach the people the 
way to heaven, they beset him, and wished to know who author- 
ized him for his work. Now they might have easily seen by the 
miracles that he did, that he was divinely authorized, and if any 
doubt had been in their minds, and they had humbly asked him 
for information, he would have given it ; but knowing the obsti- 
nate hatred and malice of their hearts, that they would not be 
convinced, he gave them no direct reply, but only put a question 
to them which obliged them to keep silence. 

They, the chief priests, had bitterly hated John the Baptist, 
and therefore they could not praise him as a prophet ; yet the 
people had a great respect for his memory, and would not allow 
him to be spoken against. So Christ asked them whether John’s 
baptism was from heaven or of men 1 One of the two it must be. 
Now they felt that they could not say it was from heaven, for 
then Christ and the people could justly have reproached them for 
approving his death, when they acknowledged him to be sent 
of God to baptize; and yet if they said it was from men, they 
would equally expose themselves to difficulty, since the people 
believed otherwise, and would have been enraged against them. 
So they told a falsehood, and said, “We cannot tell.” Then our 
Lord told them that as they would not answer his question, he 
would not answer theirs, and so he confounded them. 

After this he instructed the people by interesting parables. 
The first of these is usually called “ The Two Sons.” You will see, 
in the twenty -eighth and following verses of this chapter, one of 
these sons was told by his father to go and work ; but “ he said, 
1 will not ; but he afterwards repented and went.” Then he told 
the other to go : but he “ said, I go ; and went not.” Now, said 
our Lord, which of these did as his father wished him ? and “ they 
say unto him,” very rightly, “ the first for, though he gave a very 
bad answer to his father, yet he became sorry for it, and went and 
did as his father told him : but the other, though he pretended to 
do what his father desired, never did it. By this he taught 
them the sin of pretending to works of righteousness, and not 
doing them. My dear young reader, there is nothing more im- 
portant than sincerity in religion ; for you see how often Jesus 




child’s commentator. 


929 


reproves hypocrisy. How are our hearts affected 1 Arc they 
sincere towards God ? Let us pray — 


** Lord, search my heart, and try my reins. 
And make my soul sincere ; 

Then shall I stand before thy face, 

And find acceptance there.” 


Our Lord afterwards said, “Hear another parable;” and then 
spoke the parable of “ The Husbandmen.” It was to this purport : 
that a certain man planted a vineyard, with all its conveniences 
and defences - — a wine-press, a vat, or large tub, into which to 
squeeze the juice of the grapes, for wine — and a hedge, to protect 
it from the intrusion of animals or passers by — and a tower, in 
which to sit for pleasure, and also to watch against the coming of 
robbers, which were common characters in that part of the world. 
“ And he let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country.” 
As the rent was to be paid by giving a quantity of the fruit at the 
proper season, he sent his servants to receive it. But the hus- 
bandmen beat one, killed or beheaded another, and stoned an- 
other. He then sent other servants, but they ill-treated them 
in the same manner. At iast he sent his son, supposing that they 
would not dare to ill-use him ; instead of which, they conspired 
to put him to death, and, indeed, they “slew him.” Now, said 
our Lord, what should it be supposed that the lord of the vineyard 
would do with these wicked people, when, at last, he himself 
should come to reckon with them ? Every one answered, “ lie 
will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his 
vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the 
fruits in their seasons.” Then he condemned them by their own 
sentence, and told them, “The kingdom of heaven shall be taken 
from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits there- 
of.” By this he meant that the religious privileges which they 
enjoyed should be taken from them, and the blessings of his sal 
vation should be made known to others, who would glorify him 
for those high favours which they so badly used. 

But all this parable was to show how they had treated the ser 
vants of God whom he had sent to them ; for they had ill-used 
and killed his prophets, one after another, and in the end God 




930 child’s commentator. 

had sent himself, the Son of God, but they used him no better, 
and would at last conspire to put him to death. 

We should have supposed that the priests and scribes would 
have felt ashamed when they found that the parable described 
their wickedness ; instead of which, they even then sought to lay 
hands on him, “but at the time they were afraid lest the multi- 
tude should take his part, as he was then high in favour with 
them.” 

There are two verses near the end of this chapter which I must 
just explain. In the forty -second verse, you read, “ Jesus saith 
unto them, Did ye never read in the Scriptures, The stone which 
the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner.” 

This is a figure of speech, and refers to some words in the hundred 
and eighteenth Psalm. The Church of Christ — or, “ the congre- 
gation of faithful men” of which it is formed — is compared to a I 

building ; and as there is one stone w hich is of great importance I 

to a building, and is called the chief corner-stone, because it sup- 
ports the building, so Christ is the support of all his church, and 1 
the whole building rests upon him. But the Jewish builders — 
the Scribes, Pharisees, and Priests — would have had a church | 
without him. They rejected Christ ; and so he was the stone 
which these builders refused but which was, nevertheless, the 
chief foundation which God laid in Zion, or his church, on 
which sinners, in every age of the world, must build their hopes 
of salvation. 

Another text is, “ W hosoever shall fall on this stone shall be 
broken : but, on whomsoever it shall fall it will grind him to 
powder.” The Jews knew' very well what our Lord referred to. 
They had two ways of stoning criminals ; the one was by throw- 
ing stones upon them, the other was by throwing them from a 
high place down upon stones ; and as in both cases the criminal 
died, so he intimated to the Jews, that, as the person falling on 
the stone does not hurt the stone, but only himself, so those who 
opposed him would be their own ruin, and, on whomsoever his 
power fell, it would be like the falling stone crushing the indivi- 
dual beneath its weight. 



931 



child’s commentator. 


THE TWENTY-SECOND CHAPTER OF ST. MATTHEW. 

The Parable of the Marriage Supper — Conversations of Christ 
with the Pharisees . 

u And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables.” 

Verse 1. 


This chapter begins with another parable, and then relates 
some very interesting conversations of our Lord with his old, 
cunning, and bitter enemies — the Pharisees, Sadducees, and 
Scribes. 

This parable is known by the name of (i The Marriage Supper : 
or, the Great Supper.” It was usual with the Jews, and, indeed, 
still is usual among most nations, to make great feasts or enter- 
tainments at weddings. Our Lord tells of a king who made a 
marriage feast for his son. When the feast was ready, he sent his 
servants to call those that were invited ; but they would not 
come. Then he sent other servants, but these they ill-used and 
slew, and so despised his kind invitation. Then the king “ was 
wroth, and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murder- 
ers, and burned up their cities.” He then commanded his ser- 
vants to go into the highways, and invite every one they could 
find, who might have the honour of partaking of the feast, instead 
of those who were first invited. 

This parable had a like meaning with the last. The blessings 
of Christ’s kingdom were offered to the Jews, but they rejected 
them, and ill-treated his servants, who invited them to feed on the 
bread of life. Their city Jerusalem would therefore be attacked 
by the Roman armies, and their city burned. The heathen 
nations, who were as the people on the highways, poor and 
wretched, without the knowledge of God, were then to learn 
about Jesus Christ, and when they should hear the glad news of 
salvation through him, declared by his faithful servants, they 
would accept of his invitation, and so hasten to the feast. I hope 


I 







these persons, being suddenly invited from the highways, and 
many of them being of the poorest condition, would, more than 
others, need the use of such apparel to sit in the presence of the 
king. Besides, the neglect of wearing the robes provided by the 
king on all great occasions, is in the East considered as a great 
insult, and such a neglect has even cost some great men their lives. 


932 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


you understand this. And I would have you to remember that 
you are now among those invited, and that the feast is still pre- 
pared for you. You are welcome to partake of it. The soul 
feeds here as the body might feed at the richest feast ; and, 
believing in Jesus Christ, it enjoys infinitely more than the keen- 
est appetite ever enjoyed in partaking of the perishing dainties 
which are provided at feasts to gratify the body. 

The feast being all ready, the king entered, and he saw a per- 
son among the guests who was without a wedding garment. This 
I must explain to you. A great deal of the wealth of the people 
of the East consisted, and still consists, in fine clothes. When a 
great feast was given, these were provided for the use of the 
guests ; and we may suppose that a king would, more especially, 
have a large quantity of splendid apparel in his wardrobe. Now 



child’s commentator. 933 

The king is here, then, represented as going up to the guest, and 
inquiring how he obtained admittance, as he had not got on the 
proper garment, but had ventured to appear in his own dress, un 
tit for such an occasion. The man could say nothing ; and the 
king ordered him to be bound hand and foot, and to be cast into 
a dark dungeon, which Eastern monarchs have always ready for 
persons who offend them. The happiness of heaven is called 
“ the marriage supper of the Lamb,” or of Christ, who is “ the 
Lamb of God,” because he was a sacrifice for sinners, like a lamb 
which used to be sacrificed for the people. Now, if we are not 
properly prepared for this supper, we can never be admitted to it. 
“ Without holiness no man can see the Lord.” Let us, then, see 
that we have on the wedding garment. Many things are neces- 
sary to salvation; and, as one says, “The wedding garment is 
that which is necessary to salvation, and whatever is necessary to 
salvation is the wedding garment.” 

We must now notice the conversations of our Lord with his 
adversaries. Mortified at his parables, the Pharisees took coun- 
sel together to try and catch him saying something that they might 
accuse him of speaking against the Roman emperor. The Jews 
had then a king, Herod ; but he held his crown under the Roman 
emperor — the people having been so far conquered as to pay tri- 
bute to him. So the Pharisees took with them some of Herod’s 
subtle courtiers, and asked Christ if it was lawful to pay tribute 
to Caesar or not ? — that is, whether, according to the law of Moses, 
they should pay tribute to a heathen % Now, if our Lord had said 
it was lawful, the people would have been enraged at him, for they 
did not like Caesar, who was a Roman, taxing them, who were 
Jews; and, if he had said it was not lawful, they would have 
carried him before the Roman magistrates, and have had him put 
to death for teaching rebellion against Caesar’s authority. By 
such a subtle question, therefore, any other person would have 
been liable to be entrapped ; but our divine Lord “ perceived 
their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites ? 
Show me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. 
And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription T 
meaning, whose likeness was that stamped upon the penny, as our 



934 


child’s commentator. 


queen’s head is stamped upon ours, with her name and dignity 
around it. “ They say unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith he unto 
them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, 
and unto God the things that are God’s.” 

Now, they could not say that he had taught rebellion against 
Caesar, for having his coin in circulation among them was a sign 
that they were subject to his authority ; and so he hinted as much 
as that they were to give him his dues, while he left them to think 
what were the dues of Caesar. And they could not say that he 
had set Caesar above their divine law ; for he told them they must 
at the same time give to God all that was due to him. 

This prudence and wisdom confounded them, and they left 
him. 

By and by the Sadducees came to him. This sect among the 
Jews denied the doctrine of the resurrection of the body at the 
last day ; indeed, they denied even a future state, and supposed 
that when they died there was an end of them for ever. Now, 
they thought that they should perplex our Lord in teaching this 
doctrine, if they questioned him about a curious case that perhaps 
had, or at least, might happen. Seven brothers had had the same 
wife, the first brother dying, and then the second, on to the last ; 
and so they married her one after the other, which they could do 
by the Jewish law. Then, said they, if the resurrection is to take 
place, what a curious difficulty she and they will be in, for whose 
wife is she then to be? Our Lord, in reply, told them that they 
were quite mistaken ; that there was no marrying in heaven ; and 
that all there were as angels — happy without the need of those 
domestic comforts which are wanted here. And, with respect to 
the resurrection, he referred to the language of their own Scrip, 
tures in such a way that they could not possibly contradict him — 
“ Have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, say 
ing, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the 
God of Jacob ?” This was the language of God to Moses, at the 
burning bush ; and Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, were then all 
dead. Now, added Jesus, “ God is not the God of the dead, but 
of the living;” if these were never to rise again, and their spirits 
were not still living, he could not be called their God. He would 



CHILD'S COMMENTATOR. 


935 


not be the God of a mere rotten carcase. Therefore, God is not 
the God of the dead, who are not, but of the living, who now 
exist. Our Lord would give no direct answer on state matters 
when asked about Caesar, for his kingdom was not of this world ; 
but, when the Sadducees disputed a great truth, he directly de- 
clared it, for he came to bring “life and immortality to light,” or 
to make them clear as the light of day, “ by the gospel.” The 
Sadducees supposed that when the body died the soul died with 
it ; but Christ gave them to understand the very contrary — that 
the soul did not die, and that the body would live with it. The 
spirit lives, but the spirit is not a perfect man, and so there shall 
be a resurrection of the body to unite it to the spirit for ever. 

The Sadducees had nothing to say, and the people were all sur- 
prised at the powerful teaching of Christ. 

The Pharisees were much vexed to find that our Lord had so put 
the Sadducees to shame, for they thought that he would gain all 
the people over to him ; and being jealous of his popularity, they 
resolved to try what further could be done to confound him. So 
they set their heads together, and got a clever lawyer of their 
body to attack him. But by a lawyer you must not understand 
one who practised the common law of the land, as our English 
lawyers do, but one who understood well the law of Moses, and 
was accustomed to be looked up to by the people to explain it. 
The question which the lawyer put to Christ was, “ Which is the 
great commandment in the law?” The Jews were used to quibble 
and dispute about a number of trifling things, and there were 
many opinions among them on this question, and so the lawyer 
hoped that by obtaining an answer from Christ, he should set all 
those against him who held the opinions which he opposed. But 
our Lord did not hesitate one moment to reply, and he said that 
the great commandment was to love God with all the heart; and 
who could dispute this, that God has the first claims on the love 
of his creatures? However, as all the commandments are great, 
he added, “ The second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neigh- 
bour as thyself ;” and what could they say against that being a 
great commandment, for if all men were to be guided by it, no one 
would ever do wrong to another ? You know, indeed, that there 


936 


child’s commentator. 


are ten commandments, "but all the rest are to prevent our oppress- 
ing, or doing wrong to our neighbour, and so our Lord made here 
two great commandments. The question, however, was, which one 
was the great commandment, and his answer did not evade it, for 
the whole signified as much as this — That love to God is the great 
commandment ; for love to our neighbour, if it be of the right 
sort, can only be exercised by him who truly loves God. 

Christ now turned the tables, as we say, and on his part he 
began to question his adversaries ; but they were equally defeated 
whether he answered or proposed the question. The question was, 
“ What think ye of Christ? Whose son is he ?” As Christ means 
the Messiah, whom they were expecting, the teachers of the people, 
and this skilful lawyer, ought to have been able to make some 
reply to his question ; but what they said, was what any little 
child could have answered : “ The son of David.” Now every one 
who had learned the least about the Messiah, must have known 
that he was to spring out of the family of David. But on their 
answering this question, which they could not avoid, our Lord 
then added another, which rose out of it, and to which they found 
it difficult to reply : “ He saith unto them, How then doth David 
in spirit call him Lord, saying, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit 
thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool ? 
If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?” The words 
quoted are in the one hundred and tenth Psalm. The Jews under- 
stood these words to describe the Messiah, and they understood 
rightly — though now they did not receive that Messiah when they 
saw him, notwithstanding that he worked so many miracles among 
them, which showed him to be a most extraordinary person. Now 
the Messiah was to spring from the line of David, and so he was 
his son after the flesh, though many generations in distance from 
him; yet David called him Lord. The great Jehovah is repre- 
sented speaking to him, and telling him to sit upon his seat of 
dignity and power ; and, in describing this, David, a prophet, 
speaking of what was to come to pass, said, “ The Lord said unto 
my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand.” Now if he were David’s 
son, said Christ, how could he be his Lord? Is a son lord over 
his father ? Certainly not. The Pharisees were puzzled, for the^ 



child’s commentator. 


937 


looked for some great man to come to be their Messiah, and did 
not see that the Messiah-Christ was to be not only man in his flesh, 
but also the Son of God, the Lord — Him in whom dwelt all 
the fulness of the Godhead bodily. Since, therefore, they could 
not see this grand part of the description of the Messiah, they 
could not make out how David called his son Lord, and so could 
not answer Christ, and were put to shame and silence. They who 
truly know Christ, know him now to be David’s son and David’s 
Lord ; the son of David as he was a man of his race, and yet the 
Son of God, and the “ Lord of all” — reigning over all things, and 
the great Governor of his church. And on this account they own 
and adore him. 

I have endeavoured to make this question, with its design and 
meaning, plain to you, and I hope I have been able to make you 
understand it ; but it is not so easy to explain it as some things ; for 


the apostle Paul himself calls our Saviour’s incarnation, or dwell- 


ing in the flesh like us, a mystery, and says, “ Great is the mystery 


> of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh.” I do, however, hope 
Jl that by reading what 1 have said very seriously, you will see 
] something of its important meaning ; and if you do not, it is worth 
I while to go over it from the beginning yet again. 

After this no man durst ask Christ any more questions. 


THE TWENTY-THIRD CHAPTER OF ST. MATTHEW. 

Christ's Discourse respecting the Wickedness of the Pharisees. 

“ Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples.” — Ver. 1. 


We have in this chapter a discourse of our Lord respecting the 
Pharisees. They having been put to shame, this is what he 
thought proper to say to the people about them, to warn them 
against their wicked conduct. In order to notice what is most 
necessary, we shall run over this chapter in a sort of short way, 
explaining the passages something like notes. 


i 



L 


938 



child’s commentator. 




Verse the Second. — The Scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses ’ 
seat. That is, now Moses is now no longer the teacher of the 
people, explaining God’s law : these men take the place of Moses. 

Verse the fourth . — They bind heavy burdens , and grievous to be 
borne, and lay them on men's shoulders ; but they themselves will 
not move them with one of their fingers. Our Lord did not mean 
that the Pharisees put loads on the people’s backs, as porters bear 
loads ; but that, as porters are laden with great weights, so the 
Pharisees burdened the consciences of the people by commanding 
them to observe a great number of trifling things, which God had 
never commanded; and which, while they enforced them so much 
upon others, they took care not to do themselves. These burdens 
are, in Scripture, called traditions — they were rules of their own 
making, and were delivered from one race to another by word of 
mouth, but did not form any part of the written word of God. 

Verse the fifth. — But all their works they do to be seen of men ; 
they make broad their phylacteries and enlarge (he borders of their 
garments. They were fond of making a show of religion, and 
did every thing before men, instead of secretly before God. 
They wore great phylacteries, or pieces of parchment on their 
foreheads, and on the wrists of their left arms, on which were 
written certain words of the divine law, to make the people 
believe how much they tried to remember it. And, as the Jews 
wore fringes on the edge of their garments, to distinguish them 
from the heathen nations round about, so they, to distinguish 
themselves from others of their own countrymen, wore broader 
fringes than others. 

The next verses also tell us, that if these Pharisees went to a 
feast, they took the head of the table, to show that they were supe- 
rior to others, and to attract attention ; or, if they went into the 
markets they tried to engage the public notice of the people there, 
and to be addressed by a title which was thought very honourable, 
that is, “ Rabbi, Rabbi,” or, “ My Master, my Master.” 

Verse the ninth . — Call no man your father upon the earth. 
Children may call their parents father, for they are to honour 
their father and their mother ; but our Lord meant that no pomp 
ous title likely to make men proud was to be given to any man. 



CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


939 


If, indeed, the ministers of Christ are instrumental in doing his 
work, and so are the parents of spiritual children, the apostle de- 
scribes them as fathers, as may be seen in the fourth chapter of 
the First Epistle of the Corinthians, — but none, not even our own 
fathers, must domineer over us as fathers in religion. They may, 
and ought, to teach us how to reverence our Father which is in 
heaven, but they are not to rule over our consciences, that our 
consciences should obey them in religion, as a child in other 
things is bound to obey his father ; /or, added our Lord, one is 
your Father , which is in heaven. In the same sense our Lord 
said, One is your Master , even Christ. W e may be servants, and 
must then obey our masters, and Christ teaches us to do so ; but 
in religious matters, God only is our master, whom we are re- 
quired to serve. 

Verse the thirteenth — But woe unto you , Scribes and Pharisees , 
hypocrites ! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men : 
for ye neither go in yourselves , neither suffer ye them that are enter- 
ing to go in. The word hypocrite means one that is like a stage- 
player, who acts the character of one person while he himself is 
another ; he, perhaps, struts on the stage as a king, when he has 
not even any title, rank, or money. So the Pharisees appeared in 
false characters, seeming to be very pious men, when they had no 
piety at all. See, as I have before told you, how Jesus hates the 
want of sincerity ; for he whose lips began to open on the Mount 
with pronouncing blessings on the poor in spirit — the mourners 
— the meek and others, here pronounced but woes against the 
hypocritical Pharisees. Oh, let us beware of insincerity before 
God ! “ Search me, O God, and try me, and know the ground of 
my heart ; and see if there be any evil way in me, and lead me 
in the way everlasting !” By woe, is here meant sorrow, misery, 
and a threatening of dreadful punishment for such great wicked- 
ness as hypocrisy. By the kingdom of heaven is meant — not hea- 
ven itself, for happily no man has pow r er to shut another out of 
heaven — but what is called “ the Gospel dispensation,” or the 
time of preaching the Gospel to perishing sinners : as I nave be 
fore explained it to you. Now, by trying to prejudice the peo- 
ple against Christ — the Messiah w'ho came into the world to open 


940 



child’s commentator. 

the gates of this kingdom, and to preach the gospel to the meek 
— they did, as it were, shut the gates of this kingdom against 
them, and, not contented with refusing to enter in .themselves, 
they both ruined themselves and others, by persuading them not 
to enter in. 

Verse the fourteenth . — Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees , 
hypocrites ! for ye devour widows 1 houses , and for a pretence make 
long prayers ; therefore , ye shall receive the greater damnation. It 
is said by some writers, that the Pharisees, to seem very holy, 
prayed three times a day, and three hours at a time, so that they 
must have prayed nine hours a day. But they did not pray from 
the heart. They muttered over some words which they had got 
ready, without their souls going out towards God in what they 
said. They also made money by their prayers, and this was 

! their object, which was a vile abuse of the design of prayer, 
which is to ask blessings of God for ourselves and others. And 
what was worse, under this pretence of praying, they devoured 
widows’ houses, that is, they imposed upon poor widows, from 
whom they most likely got much of the money left to them for 
their support, by pretending to pray for them better than they 
could pray for themselves. 

Now there is no harm in long prayers; for prayer is a good 
employment, if we have time to be long, without robbing our 
family of our needed work and services, in which case God never 
requires one duty to clash with another. We have, as good Mr. 
Henry remarks, many sins to confess, many mercies to ask, and 
many blessings to be thankful for, — so that we have enough to 
engage us at times long in prayer ; and our blessed Lord, before 
he suffered, and when he needed extraordinary support of spirits, 
was engaged a whole night in prayer. But these Pharisees were 
condemned, as the same writer beautifully remarks, in a figure 
of speech, because, “ while they seemed to soar heavenwards up- 
on the wings of prayer, their eye, like the kite’s, was all the 
while upon their prey on the earth — some widow’s house or 
other, that lay convenient for them.” 

Verse the fifteenth . — Woe unto you , Scribes and Pharisees , hypo- 
crites ! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte , and 




child’s commentator. 941 

when he is made , ye make him twofold more the child of hell than 
yourselves. A proselyte is a person whom we bring over to believe 
and do what we believe and do. The Pharisees were very diligent 
in making proselytes; they did not mind any trouble, but were 
like the merchant, who travels by land or by water, if he can 
make his-gain. Now the persons whom the Pharisees made prose- 
lytes were heathens, used to wicked practices not done by the Jews; 
but as the Pharisees only converted them to their own wicked 
ways, they did but make them more wicked, by adding wicked- 
ness to wickedness. This is what our Lord meant by making 
them twofold more the children of hell than themselves. 

Verse sixteenth . — Woe unto you , ye blind guides , which say, who- 
soever shall swear by the temple it is nothing , but whosoever shall 
swear by the gold of the temple he is a debtor. People were accus- 
tomed to offer gifts of gold for the use of the temple, and some- 
times to swear or make oath that they would give certain gifts. 

I Now', if they made oath to do any thing, and merely said, “ By the 

J| temple, or in the name of the temple, 1 will do it,” the Pharisees 

f said they might break their promise if they pleased ; but if they 
/ swore in the name of the gold to be offered, they must not break 

I their promise then. But our Lord said this was wicked, for one 

sacred promise should be kept as much as another ; and if there 
was any' difference in point of dignity, between the gold conse- 
crated to the temple, and the temple itself, the temple was the most 
noble, and the promise made by it ought rather to be kept. But he 
who knows men’s hearts saw that this was all hypocrisy, and that 
they recommended the keeping the oath by the gold, because they 
were sharers of it when it w r as cast into the treasury. Christ call- 
ed these men blind guides, since they pretended to guide others 
in the way to heaven, and could not see it themselves. 

Verse the twenty-third . — Woe unto you , Scribes and Pharisees , 
hypocrites ! for ye pay tithe of mint , and anise , and cummin, and 
have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and 
faith. Mint, anise, and cummin, are herbs. The Pharisees were 
very particular in giving the priests and levites the tenth part of 
the value of every thing that made their income, even to these 
small herbs ; and they did not lose by it, for the priests made 




942 


child’s commentator. 




them due returns for setting this example. But they were un- 
just, unkind, and unfaithful to others ; and so while they minded 
trifling things that cost them nothing and turned to their advan- 
tage, they neglected more weighty or important things. 

Verse the twenty-fourth .. — Ye blind guides , which strain at a 
gnat and swallow a camel. They even pretended that it was very 
wicked to swallow a gnat or a fly, and strained their liquor when 
they drank it, that it might be quite pure ; and so it became a 
saying in reference to those who mind little things, and pay no 
attention to things of importance, they strain at a gnat — a small 
thing — and swallow a camel — a huge animal, or great thing. 

Verse the twenty fifth . — Woe unto you , Scribes and Pharisees , 
hypocrites ! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the 
platter , but within they are full of extortion and excess. The Pha- 
risees were very particular about washing their cups and pots, 
and would neither eat nor drink out of any thing till it was well 
washed ; but their hearts were full of wickedness, getting money 
by unjust and wrong means. 

Twenty -seventh verse . — Woe unto you , Scribes and Pharisees , 
hypocrites ! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed ap- 
pear beautiful outward , but are within full of dead men’s bones and 
of all uncleanness. The Jews washed their tombs with clean 
white lime, that persons might not go too near them and be pol- 
luted ; so that they looked very fair outside, and the contrast of 
what they were within, having only dead bodies and bones. 
Hence our Lord describes the Pharisees, as only having a fair 
appearance, while the dispositions of their hearts were foul within 
— they were “ full of hypocrisy and iniquity.” 

The next woe which our Lord pronounces, is against the hypo- 
crisy of these Pharisees, who built grand and beautiful tombs over 
the graves of the prophets and righteous men, whom their fore- 
fathers had persecuted, and blamed them for their bad conduct, 
while they acted even more wickedly, in persecuting Christ and 
those that followed him ; and would act worse still, in persecuting 
and putting to death both Christ himself and his apostles. 



child’s commentator. 


943 


THE TWENTY-FOURTH CHAPTER OF ST. MATTHEW. 

Christ foretels the Destruction of Jerusalem. 

“ And Jesus went out and departed from the Temple : and his 
disciples came to him for to show him the building of the 
Temple. 

“ And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things ? Verily 
I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon 
another, that shall not be thrown down.” — Vers. 1, 2. 


The temple of Jerusalem was a most splendid building, and 
king Herod had expended a great deal for its improvement, so 
that it was so grand that the Jews used to say, he who has not 
seen the building of Herod, has never seen a beautiful building. 

The disciples one day, having taken particular notice of its fine 
marble columns and curious workmanship, pointed them out to 
Christ, that he might admire them too. Our Lord then told them, 
“ There shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall 
not be thrown down which really took place not a very long 
time afterwards, though there was then no probability that so 
fine and firm a building would or could be so easily destroyed. 

The disciples were then more curious to know when this won- 
derful destruction should happen. Our Lord did not satisfy their 
curiosity, but gave them warning how they might know when it 
was coming on ; that there should first be false prophets arising, 
who should deceive the people ; and so it was. Then there should 
be wars ; and there were terrible wars for a long time between 
the Jews and the Homans, who then ruled over them, as between 
them and several other nations. There should also be “ famine, 
pestilences, and earthquakes.” There should likewise be cruel 
persecutions and murders of the followers of Christ ; and finally, 
the Gospel should be preached to all other nations as well as to 
the Jews. 

This would be a dreadful time. The Jews must then expect 

35 


child’s commentator. 


944 

miseries never known before in the whole world. God w r as about 
to punish them for their many and great sins against him, but 
especially for the greatest of all sins, that of rejecting and hating 
Jesus Christ, the only Saviour. So dreadful would be the ven- 
geance of the Roman armies when once Jerusalem should be be- 
sieged, that the moment there was an appearance of it, all Chris- 
tians w r ere advised to escape, and lose not a moment, but flee and 
hide themselves in secret places in the mountains. Jf they were 
walking to cool themselves on the tops of their Eastern houses, 
they must not even return to pack up any thing, but hasten down 
outside; if at work in the field, and their clothes lay at a dis- 
tance, it would be unwise to risk delay by going after them ; and 
unfortunate would the mother be, that then had to escape with 
the burden of a child at her bosom ; or if the siege should happen 
in winter, miserable would it be for the poor creatures who had 
to hurry over bad roads and amidst swelling floods ; or if on the 
Sabbath-day, when they were limited by the law to a short jour- 
ney, it would hardly be possible to escape at all. 

Then the sun should be darkened, the moon not give her light, 
the stars should fall, and the powers of heaven be shaken. I have 
told you before, in noticing the prophecies, that the prophets used 
figures or similitudes to express things which were to happen ; 
and that kings, queens, and magistrates, are frequently represent- 
ed by the sun, moon, and stars ( see Isaiah , chapter the fir si). Our 
Lord is here prophesying, and so he speaks as a prophet. He does 
not mean that the sun, moon, and stars, will really undergo all 
these changes, but that the Jewish church and government would, 
and that its rulers, and church, and temple, would lose all their 
glory, as much as the sun loses his for awhile in an eclipse, or 
the moon hers on a dark night, and this as suddenly as the shoot- 
ing stars fall from heaven. It is, however, thought that our di- 
vine Lord had, at the same time, an eye to the last great day of 
judgment, when all nature shall be shaken, and he shall come to 
punish the wicked for their wickedness. 

Then Jesus spake a parable or comparison about the fig-tree, 
and told them, that these signs of the destruction of Jerusalem 
which he had given them, would be as sure guides as were the 


945 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 945 

leaves of the fig-tree, when they broke out, guides of the approach 
of the summer ; just as budding gooseberry or currant-trees 
warn us of the approach of spring. But the exact time was a 
secret known only to God, though it would be sudden as the de- 
struction of the world in the days of Noah. 

The desolation should also be so great, that if but two were 
together, even one of these should perish while the other es- 
caped, whether they were labouring in the field or grinding at 
the mill : “ the one” should “ be taken and the other left.” 

Hence he told them all to “ watch,” and be on the look-out for 
these signs, that they might be ready to escape. 

To fix his warnings more strongly on the mind, he spake an- 
other of his instructive parables. He told them of a steward, 
who was entrusted by his master with the affairs of his household, 
and who, if he conducted himself well, his master would not fail 
to reward ; but if, on coming to inquire about him, he found he 
had abused his power, and behaved improperly to his fellow ser- 
vants, he would punish him severely, and cut him in pieces, as 
men were punished in the East. If we mind the word of God, 
though we ought so to do, yet he will even reward us for only 
doing what he has a right to command; but if we do not mind 
him, then we must abide by the dreadful consequences, which at 
last will be “ weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 

A worse destruction than that of Jerusalem awaits this guilty 
world, which, with all its works, shall be burnt up. We know 
not when that hour shall come, but if we trust in Jesus Christ, 
and flee to that divine Saviour as the refuge for our souls, let it 
come whenever it may, we shall be sure to be safe. And death 
constantly attends us, and may carry oft’ the youngest at any hour, 
without previous notice. We should therefore always be ready 
to die, which can only be by trusting our souls and committing 
them daily to the care of Jesus; so that what our Lord said to 
his disciples about what was coming on them, may also be a 
proper warning for us: “Therefore, be ye also ready: for in 
such an hour as ye think not, the Son of man cometh.” 


1 



THE TWENTY-FIFTH CHAPTER OF ST. MATTHEW. 

The Parable of the Ten Virgins — The Parable of the Talents — 
The Day of Judgment. 

“ Watch, therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour 
wherein the Son of man cometh.” — Ver. 13. 


This chapter is a continuation of the last, and refers to the 
same terrible event — the destruction of Jerusalem. But our di- 
vine Lord clearly glides from that awful subject, into the destruc- 
tion of the world, and the day of judgment, which I have just no- 
ticed at the end of the last chapter. 

I must get you to read the first thirteen verses of the chapter, 
or I shall have no pages to spare to explain much of the parable 
which they contain. It is usually called “The Parable of the 
Ten Virgins.” It refers to a custom among the Jews, and still 
practised among people in Eastern nations. When two persons 
are married, the bridegroom goes out at night to meet his wife. 
He has his friends with him and she has hers, called here “ ten 
virgins,” or young unmarried women. Torches and lamps are 
always carried in these processions. Our Lord represents five 
of the virgins as foolishly forgetting to take any oil with them. 
When, therefore, the party were all in a bustle to trim their lamps 
and light those which had gone out, while they had fallen asleep 
— and to go to meet the bridegroom on his arrival at the house of 
her father, where the bride was — they had no time to buy or get 
oil elsewhere, and asked the other virgins to supply them. But, 
as the others had only oil enough for themselves, they could not 
spare any to their foolish companions. So the foolish virgins had 
to leave the company to get oil ; but, before they could get back, 
the procession was gone, the party had entered the bridegroom’s 
house, and, agreeably to their custom, the door was shut, and no 
further admittance given to any. 




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By this our Lord teaches us, that, if we are not prepared with 
grace or holiness in our hearts when Christ comes to judgment, we 
shall be able to get none after ; and, as the foolish virgins were 
shut out of the bridegroom’s chamber, so must we in such a case 
be shut out of heaven. 

Perhaps we may die to-morrow. Have we oil in our vessels ? Are 
our hearts prepared to meet Christ? “ Watch, therefore, for ye know 
neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” 

There is also another parable, which is known by the name of 
“ The Parable of the Talents.” You must read that first, too, and 
then I will explain it. 

The design of Christ in this parable, is to teach us all to use 
our time, and abilities, and money, and whatever we have, dili- 
gently, in the best way we can, to promote his glory. These are 
our talents, intrusted to us to use properly. Talents, you know, 
were sums of gold and silver; a golden talent was worth thirty- 
five thousand dollars, and a silver one twenty-two hundred and 
fifty dollars; but some of our talents are of much more value 
than gold and silver, and must be answered for by even the poorest 
amongst us. If we diligently use our talents, though we may not 
all be able to use them to the same advantage as others, yet our 
gracious Lord will approve of what we have done, and say to our 
hearts now, and yet more hereafter, “ Well done, good and faith- 
ful servants.” But, if we take and hide our talents, as if they 
were buried in the earth, and so do no good to any, nor produce 
any glory to Him who gave them to us, then we shall be like the 
foolish, idle, and wicked servant here mentioned, and perhaps 
God may take these talents from us even now, but he will cer- 
tainly at last, cast us away with the unprofitable. 

The last thing in this chapter is a grand description of the day 
of judgment. Passing from the destruction of Jerusalem to that 
of our sinful world, our blessed Lord describes himself as about 
to come in all his glory, attended by all his angels, and seated on his 
judgment throne. All nations, of all times, shall be raised from 
the dead, and appear before him ; and then he shall make one grand 
division between them, and separate forever the righteous from the 
wicked, just as a shepherd would divide his sheep from the goats. 




950 


child’s commentator. 


Sheep and goats are not, indeed, generally seen together amongst 

us ; we have but few goats, 
but in some countries abroad, 
especially about the hilly 
countries in Greece, there are 
flocks of both sorts of animals 
feeding together. Now, the 
righteous are often called in 
Scripture by the name of 
sheep, because they are 
thought to be good emblems 
of innocent, harmless, and 
pure persons, while goats, 
from various causes, are em- 
blems of the opposite cha- 
racters. 

Having separated the two, 
the great and heart-searching Judge, will place the righteous at 
his right hand, which is considered as the place of honor, and 
the wicked at his left hand, as a sign of their dishonour; or, to 
speak in other words, he will mark the righteous with his approval, 
and the wicked with disgrace and shame. He will then invite the 
righteous, and say to them, “ Come, ye blessed” — and introduce 
them to his heavenly kingdom ; while to the wicked he will say, 
“ Depart from me, ye cursed !” He will even notice and reward 
the acts of kindness done to those who love him, as if done to 
himself, and will say, “ Inasmuch as ye have done it to one of 
the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” While 
neglect, unkindness, and cruelty, shown towards those who love 
him, will equally be marked and punished ; for he will say to the 
guilty, “ Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye 
did it not to me.” “ And these shall go away into everlasting 
punishment, but the righteous into life eternal.” 

Oh, how awful will be the separation of that great day ! 
Miserable souls ! that shall be for ever parted from all the good 
and happy, and from God the giver of all good ; and not only 
parted for ever from these, but plunged into hell with the devil 







child’s commentator. 951 


and wicked spirits, whence there will be no hope of ever escap- 
ing ! Dear young reader, put your trust in Jesus, and he will 
save you from “ the wrath to come.” 


THE TWENTY-SIXTH CHAPTER OF ST. MATTHEW. 

The Passover — The Sufferings of Christ. 

“ The Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.” — Ver. 2. 


When our blessed Jesus came into the world to save sinners, 
he knew what he had to suffer. He was to die that we might 
live. And now the time of his death began rapidly to approach ; 

i ) and he told his disciples that in two days the passover was to be 

I eaten, in remembrance of the eating of the lamb at the escape of 

k the children of Israel out of Egypt, and that then he was to be 

betrayed that he might be crucified. Nothing could more firmly 
establish their faith in him than to see that he knew all things, 
and the exact time when they should come to pass. So if they 
should be disappointed at his death, and for a moment think it 
strange that he, who could have saved himself, should give him- 
self up into the hands of wicked men who should crucify him, — 
yet when they afterwards thought on what he told them, it would 
only confirm their minds in their belief in him as the Son of 
God. 

The disciples soon found that it was but too true they must 
lose their beloved Lord and Master. For “ the chief priests, 
Scribes, and elders of the people,” who had so often shown their 
hatred to Jesus, because he exposed their wickedness to the peo- 
ple, and reproved them for their hypocrisy and other crimes, now 
assembled together in the palace of the High Priest, called Caia- 
phas, and consulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty and 
kill him. They, however, did not like to venture to do so just 
at the passover, for they feared lest there should be “ an uproar 
among the people.” The people had received great benefits from 



952 


child’s commentator. 


Jesus ; many of them and their friends, who would travel from 
all parts of Judea to the feast, had been cured of their diseases by 
his kindness, and had seen the miracles which he had done, and 
it was, therefore, natural to suppose that if they had any grati- 
tude about them, they would avenge any insults offered to him. 

A few days before the passover, Jesus came to Bethany, a vil 
lage near Jerusalem, and was invited to eat at the house of Si 
mon the leper ; — very likely one who had been a leper, and 
whom he had cured, and so he showed him this gratitude for his 
kindness. At all events he entertained Christ, and it is here re- 
lated to his honour. 

While Jesus was eating, a woman approached him, and poured 
some precious ointment on his head, which she had brought in an 
alabaster box. According to our customs, this would seem very 
rude, and particularly free behaviour in a female. But it was 
different in the Jewish country, and was a mark of very high re- 
spect, the ointment being expensive, and the fragrant smell pro- 
ceeding from it most grateful to all present. Some of the disci- 
ples thought the woman was extravagant ; but Christ knew her 
motive in what she did, and commended her love. Who she was 
is not exactly certain, as some suppose she was Mary Magdalene, 
out of whom Christ had cast seven devils, and others that she 
was Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus. The fame of her 
kind act — her liberal token of love to Jesus — was, however, well 
known and spread abroad at that time ; and, wherever the gos- 
pel was preached this was mentioned to her praise. 

And now the moment arrived when the sufferings of our gra- 
cious Saviour began. One of his disciples, Judas, the wretched 
man ! went to the chief priests and offered to deliver up Christ to 
them for thirty pieces of silver — the paltry price paid for a pur- 
chased servant, — about eighteen and three-fourths dollars ! They 
durst not take Christ publicly for fear of the people, but Judas 
offered to take them to one of his private retreats, and there to 
deliver him up ; and with the greatest care, he watched for the 
most favourable opportunity. 

There were seven days in which the Jews ate their unleavened 
bread, — or bread not made of yeast or any thing to ferment itv 


child’s commentator. 


953 


and during this time the passover was celebrated. You remem- 
ber that the reason of eating this bread, was to keep the Jews in 
mind, that they were delivered from Egyptian bondage in the 
greatest haste, so that they had not even time to mix the leaven 
with their dough ready made in their troughs. 

Jesus sat, or more properly, leaned, or laid down at the pass- 
over, with his disciples. The first passover was eaten standing, as 
another additional sign of the haste in which the people were to 
escape, but this sign was afterwards not used, and now they lay 
down, leaning on their elbows, just as we do on a sofa, this being 
the fashion in the Jews’ country, and is still so in that part of the 
world. While our blessed Saviour took the passover, he said to 
his disciples, “ One of you shall betray me.” So that he showed 
that he knew what wickedness was in the heart of Judas, and, that 
he could have escaped from his treachery if he pleased ; but he 
came into the world to give his precious life a ransom for sinners. 

If he had not died, then no sinner could have been saved. For, 
your common sense will tell you, that a perfect being must be 
holy and just, as well as good ; and, therefore, while God’s good- 
ness inclined him to save the sinner, God’s holiness and justice 
required him to punish transgression. Now, if he had punished 
sinners as they deserved, they must have been punished for ever, 
and so could never be saved. But when Jesus came to save sin- 
ners, he “ had power to lay down his life, and power to take it 
up again and so, having offered himself to die for, or instead of, 
sinners, and, having merit enough to atone or answer for all their 
sins, when he had died he rose again, and now his risen body 
shows that he was wounded and crucified for us who believe in 
him, and so we are freed from all condemnation. 

This was the reason why Jesus did not escape from Judas; he 
knew that Judas would betray him, and told him so; and thus 
proved that he was more than man, because he could tell what 
was in the heart of man ; but he loved us and resolved to die for 
us. Oh, let us then love him ! can we do less in return for such 
love? 

His disciples were very sorrowful, and all were afraid lest they 
should be tempted to do so wicked a thing as to betray their be* 




Ill 


954 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


loved Lord ; and they asked with great concern, “ Lord, is it I V* 
Then he said to them, “ He that dippeth his hand with me in the 
dish, the same shall betray me.” They would all do this, for 
this was the way of eating, taking it out of one dish with their 
fingers, and not with knives and forks as we eat ; but then this 
was to show how villanous the man would be ; for to eat toge- 
ther was the greatest sign of friendship, and so this showed his 
conduct to be as bad as it possibly could be. Yet Judas, in or- 
der to disguise himself before the other disciples, daringly asked, 
“Master, is it I V’ and Christ said it was he. 

Jesus then took bread and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it 
to the disciples, as is now done, after his example, at the Lord’s 
supper ; and in like manner he took the cup. When he gave the 
bread, he said, “ This is my body” — meaning this represents my 
body to be broken for you, — it could not actually be his body, for 
his body remained the same. So, also, he said, when he took the 
cup, “ This is my blood of the New Testament ” — that is, this re- 
presents my blood to be shed for sinners, and represents it by a 
different sign from that which has been used ; hitherto the blood 
of beasts was shed as the sign that he was to die, but now and 
henceforth wine, the blood or juice of the grape, was to be the 
sign. Both of these — the bread and the wine — were to be taken, 
and afterwards to be continued in the church, and received by 
Christians in remembrance that Christ died foi; them — “ for the 
remission of sins,” that is, the pardoning of sins. 

It was now evening, and supposed, from the time of year, to 
have been moonlight. Jesus proposed to take a cooling walk to 
the mount of Olives, near Jerusalem, and at a place called 
Gethsemane , that is, an olive-mill , a place to press the sweet oil 
out of olives, such as we use in our salads — at this place he de- 
sired his disciples to sit down, while he retired to pray. He 
took, however, Peter, and “ the two sons of Zebedee,” — that is, 
James and John, that they might see and bear witness of what 
he endured to save sinners. 

Then he told them that his soul was “ exceedingly sorrowful.” 
You, dear young reader, have perhaps felt great pangs before God 
for sin, and you know something of what it is for the soul to be 


JlibUS IN THE GARDEN UF GET11SEMANE. 





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JXJDAS BETRAYING WITH A KISS. THE CROWN OF THORNS. 



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child’s commentator. 957 


sorrowful — such pangs are dreadful, very dreadful indeed — it is, 
however, better to be sorrowful now, and heart-broken for sin, 
than to be lost for ever; but what must the sufferings of Jesus 



have been when he was exceeding sorrowful, standing in the place 
of all his people, bearing their guilt, and feeling their sorrows; 
for so he did when he suffered. I have, however, only said, 'per- 
haps, you have felt severe sorrow, and where it is felt it is dreadful, 
and may well serve to give us an idea of the pains of Jesus bearing 
our sins and carrying our sorrows ; but I must add, that we may 
be sorry for our sins, and show our sorrow by turning from them, 
and asking forgiveness for them, and hating them, without always 
feeling the same agonies of mind as some others. We must, 
however, all feel sorry for sin, and shall feel the more so, as we 
think on what Jesus suffered for our sins when he was “ exceed- 
ing sorrowful.” 

And now the dear Saviour began to feel that human nature 
which he had taken, shrink from the tortures which he knew it 



958 


child’s commentator. 


must endure, and he prayed that “the cup might pass from hir.i” 
— that he might not suffer. He, however, only prayed in sub- 
mission to the will of his Father. His human will would fain 
have escaped the suffering, but that must yield to his divine will, 
in which all was determined for the salvation of guilty men ; and 
so he said, “ Not as I will,” in the form of weak man, “ but as 
thou wilt,” that God may be glorified and sinners be saved. 

In this prayer we are taught to pray for the removal of any 
suffering only if God pleases ; his wisdom and goodness will order 
all for the best, and we ought to submit to him. 

Our Lord’s disciples were wearied, and fell asleep ; but he con- 
tinued to pray, and again and again repeated the same affecting 
prayer. 

Judas had not been with the party, he was absent, and Jesus 
knew why. He awoke his disciples and said, “Rise, let us be going : 
behold, he is at hand that doth betray me. And while he yet spake, 
lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude 
with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the peo- 
ple.” They did not exactly know which was Jesus, and so Judas said 
he would go up to him and salute him, and then they would know. 
How strangely hardened his heart must have been, and how blinded, 
after Jesus had told him he was about to be betrayed, and that he 
would be the betrayer, to suppose that our Lord should not see 
through his hypocritical design, in kissing him only to betray 
him ! And a worse sign he could not have given, for it only served 
to show his baseness i.\ the strongest light. Had he struck him it 
would have been very bad, but to kiss him only to show his 
enemies which was he, was the height of wickedness ! Those w ho 
now pretend to love Christ, and yet do not faithfully give them- 
selves up to his cause, do but too much resemble Judas : this is 
like kissing Christ and betraying him. 

Moreover, Judas added, “Hail, Master !” that is, peace be to 
thse, or health and happiness, as we say, “ and kissed him.” And 
all this he did from the Jove of money. Let us beware that that 
does not take possession ff our hearts ; for if we grasp after w r ealth, 
and are more concerned for that than for the cause of Christ, our 
covetousness will be our ruin. You have not money yet to tempt 



CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


959 


you to this evil, but you may remember what I say, if God should 
ever allow you to possess it. Oh, do not forget, that the love of 
it made Judas even sell his Master. 

The poor disciples showed too, that while Jesus was so ready 
to die for them, they were then afraid to lose their lives for him ; 
they all “ forsook him and fled !” So have many forsaken Christ, 
and followed no more after him, but given up their religion, and 
lost their souls, in a time of danger and persecution. These dis- 
ciples, however, though frightened now, were yet sincere, and af- 
terwards suffered and died for love to the memory of their divine 
Master. 

Peter was always very zealous and forward in danger, and 
when Christ was taken, he did not quite like to leave him in the 
hands of his enemies without seeing what they were about to do, 
so he “ followed him afar off unto the High Priest’s palace, and 
went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end.” 

In the meantime the priests and elders tried to get some per- 
sons to bear witness that Christ had said something in their hear- 
ing that was very wicked, and according to their law deserved 
death. Now none could say this in truth ; so they were obliged 
to get false witnesses ; that is, pay some bad men to say anything 
they pleased, to make a reason for pronouncing sentence on him. 
These vile men then declared that they had heard Christ say, that 
he could destroy the temple and rebuild it* in three days. Christ 
had, indeed, said something like such a thing, but he spake only 
of “ the temple of his body that is, that when he should be put 
to death he would “ rise again the third day.” And he did not 
say, “ I am able to destroy the temple,” but only, “ destroy this 
temple,” meaning, as I have just said, his body. This was, how- 
ever, too trifling to affect his life; so the High Priest tried if he 
could get Christ to say something that would suit their purpose 
better, and adjured him to te.ll them whether or not he was “ the 
Son of God.” “ Thou hast said,” said Jesus; that is, thou art 
right — “ I am the Son of God.” Then the High Priest rent his 
clothes, declared he had spoken blasphemy, and that there was 
no further need of witnesses. Had he not been the Son of God, 
he would, indeed, have spoken blasphemy ; but they did not 


1 



960 


child’s commentator. 


know that he was so, though he had done miracles enough ii thw 
land to prove it, and, therefore, they now seized the opportunity 
of putting to death the Lord of Life and Glory. 

And now the servants and soldiers spit in his face, struck him, 
slapped his cheeks, and having blindfolded him, asked him to tell 
them who did it. This was horribly wicked ; and they are as 
horribly wicked who make sport with the name of Jesus, and 
use it triflingly or in jest : take care never to sport with sacred 
things. 

Peter was all this while sitting among the servants of the High 
Priest, when one of the maids espied him out, and accused him of 
being a disciple ; but Peter was afraid of suffering in the same 
way, and so denied it. He then left his seat and went to the 
porch or entrance of the High Priest’s hall ; but there he was 
again discovered by another maid, and then he swore that he 
knew nothing of Christ. After this some more persons charged 
him with being one of Christ’s followers, and they said that his 
dialect proved he came from the same part of the country. Peter 
again cursed and swore, probably w^orse than before, and said he 
knew nothing of Christ. Those that curse and swear show most 
plainly that they cannot belong to Christ, so Peter took a most 
effectual and wicked method to disguise himself. 

Jestis had warned him of this, and told him, that before the 
cock should crow twice he would deny him thrice. His words 
now came to pass. The cock crew — Peter remembered it— his 
heart was ready to break — he thought how wicked he had been, 
and, going away, he “ wept bitterly.” This was a sign that he 
sincerely repented ; but no weeping bitterly can ever wash away 
the foulness of your sins and of mine ; that can only be done by 
faith in the blood of Jesus Christ, which has a particular virtue 
in healing the wounded soul, and taking away its guilt and de- 
filement, and which “ cleanseth from all sin.” 



child’s commentator. 


961 


THE TWENTY-SEVENTH CHAPTER OF ST. MATTHEW. 

Sufferings of Christ — His Death. 

M Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up 
the ghost.” — Ver. 50. 


Good Mr. Henry, whose name is now well known to you, since 
I have so often mentioned him, says, “ It is a very affecting story 
which is recorded in this chapter, concerning the sufferings and 
death of our Lord Jesus. Considering the thing itself, there can- 
not be a more tragical story told us ; common humanity would 
melt the heart to find an innocent and excellent person thus mis- 
used. But, considering the design and fruit of Christ’s suffer- 
ings, it is gospel, it is good news, that Jesus Christ was thus de- 
livered for our offences ; and there is nothing we have more rea- 
son to glory in than the cross of Christ.” 

I hope you now understand what he means in these words ; 
that though Christ’s sufferings were such as ought to move our 
hearts even to grief as well as pity, yet they ought, at the same 
time, to be gloried in, because they have produced our salvation 
as much as the tree produces its fruits. 

We left Christ in the hands of the chief priests and elders, con- 
demned to die, but they had not full power to kill him ; they 
could only show how much they desired to put him to death. 
About two years before this, the Romans, who had conquered 
the Jews, had taken from them the power to execute any, and 
therefore another council was .held, to know what further to do. 
So they bound Jesus and led him to Pilate, the Roman Governor, 
who was placed over them, in order that he might execute the 
sentence which they had passed upon him. 

While this was doing, Judas’s conscience became so troubled, 
for having basely delivered up his innocent Master, that he went 
and threw down the money which, for his wicked act, he had re- 
ceived from the chief priests and elders, and he said, “ I have 


962 



child’s commentator. 

sinned, in that I have betrayed the innocent blood.” But the 
priests, even more hardened than he, said, “ What is that to us ? 
see thou to that.” As much as to say, “ that is your concern, Judas, 
and not ours ; our end is served, and so you may do as you please ; 
and if you have betrayed the innocent, the fault is yours, and not 
ours.” How the hearts of these wicked men deceived them, as if 
they had it not in their power to release Christ, when such a wit- 
ness told them of his innocence ; and as if, because he had betray- 
ed his Master, they were not at all guilty in following up his 
wickedness by seeking his life ! Judas, in despair, left the tem- 
ple, and “ went and hanged himself.” “ See,” says our good Mr. 
Henry again, “ what a drug money is when the guilt of sin is at- 
tached to it.” All money, wrongly obtained, will, sooner or 
later, burn the conscience, remember that. The priests would 
not use the money for sacred purposes, — so very scrupulous 
could they be in some things, and yet so wicked in others — and 
so they bought with it a lield, called the Potter’s Field, for the 
purpose of burying strangers in it. 

Christ having declared himself to be the Christ or Messiah — 
the Son of God — the Jew's thought they had excellent grounds on 
which to accuse him to the Romans. They had a notion in their 
heads, that the Messiah was to be their king, as David and others 
had been before, and so they thought that by Christ owning him- 
self to be the Messiah, he professed also to be their king. This was 
their own fancy, for his kingdom was not of this world, but spi- 
ritual ; he never intended to sit upon an earthly throne, but to 
reign in the human heart, making it obedient to him from love. 
This fancy of theirs they told to Pilate as truth ; and as the Ro- 
mans would be jealous of any one claiming the throne — as Herod 
was when Christ was born— they thought they could bring a 
charge of treason against Christ. Pilate being informed of this, 
asked, “ Art thou the king of the Jews V 1 Jesus said unto him, 
“ Thou sayest meaning, “ I am.” He was, indeed, as I have said, 
a spiritual King, reigning in the hearts of those that believed in 
him ; but he was misunderstood, and he would explain no further; 
for he knew that the malice of the Jews bent them on his destruc- 
tion. And this was not the only charge they had, for they pro 



/vvmcw* 3iv 




















CHRIST BEARING HIS CROSS. THE CRUCIFIXION. 








969 




CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 




ceeded to accuse him of many other things, in reply to which 
charges, he thought it beneath the dignity of innocence to reply. 

Now there had been a custom introduced by the Romans — 
perhaps to win the hearts of the lower orders of the Jews — to re- 
lease some prisoner at the time of the passover. So Pilate fixed 
upon Barabbas, a most notorious thief and murderer, and pro- 
posed to the Jews to determine which of the two should be set 
at liberty, Barabbas or Christ. He believed Christ to be inno- 
cent, and proposed this Barabbas, whose life none could well 
wish to be spared, that the innocent Saviour, whom he set in 
contrast to him, might escape. But the chief priests and elders 
managed to persuade the people to demand Barabbas. Aston- 
ished at their choice, Pilate then asked what was to be done with 
Jesus, and they said, “ Let him be crucified !” 

Crucifixion was a cruel, lingering, and disgraceful punishment. 
Cruel, for the criminal had to bear his cross to the place of exe- 
cution, and then, faint and weary, and heart-broken, he was 
stretched upon the wood, which was something like the letter T. 
On the top part, his arms were extended and his hands nailed to 
it ; and on the upright part bis body was to hang, supported 
in part by his nailed hands, and, before raising, his feet were 
nailed to the lower part. The cross was then lifted up. and, with 
a jerk, it was thrust into a hole in the ground, thus adding to the 
poor victim’s sufferings. The criminal sometimes lingered a long 
time before he expired, and was killed at last. This mode of 
putting to death was only practised on wicked servants, thieves, 
robbers, and murderers, and the vilest of men ; and it showed, 
indeed, the bitter and horrid malice of the wicked Jews against 
the innocent Saviour, that they wished him to suffer no less a 
punishment ; and they thought that this would frighten all his 
followers, as well as make them ashamed of him. 

Pilate was shocked at the Jews, yet he had not courage nor up- 
rightness enough to refuse them their wicked request; so to quiet 
his own conscience in giving up the innocent Saviour to be put to 
death, he took some water and washed his hands before all the 
people, which was a custom to show that a man took no part in 
the murder of any person ; and he said, “ I am innocent of the 



966 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


blood of this just person, see ye to it.” Then answered all the 
people and said, “ His blood be on us and on our children that 
is, “ we will bear the blame, whatever may happen from it, so 
let him die : we care nothing for the consequences, we are not 
afraid of them.” 

Oh miserable people ! His blood was afterwards upon them 
indeed ! Nearly their whole nation were butchered, enslaved, 
driven into perpetual banishment, and scattered among all na- 
tions, as they are to this day : and the Romans, whom they used 
as the tools to do their wicked deed, were the men that after- 
wards executed the Divine vengeance. “ It is a fearful thing to 
fall into the hands of the living God.” Oh, dear young reader, 
fear to sin against him, for “ our God is a consuming fire !” He 
is, indeed, merciful; but those who reject and despise Jesus, will 
find that they have nothing to look for but his “ fiery indigna- 
tion, which shall devour the adversaries.” 

Jesus was scourged ; stripped ; dressed in mockery, in a scarlet 
robe, like a pretended king ; a crown of thorns was made and put 
upon his head, that his tender temples might be pierced and made 
to bleed : and a reed, or cane, was put in his hand as a sham 
sceptre. All of this the Saviour submitted to with the greatest 
meekness. Then, to finish their mockery, the soldiers bowed the 
knee to him, and cried, 4 * Hail, king of the Jews !” Next they 
spit upon him, out of contempt, and smote him on the head with 
the reed, and, when they had heaped upon him every indignity, 
they took off his mock robes, and led him away to be crucified. 

On their way to the place of execution, they met with a man 
of Cyrene, named Simon, thought by some to have been attach- 
ed to Christ ; and as they feared that our blessed Lord could 
hardly be able to live any longer if he bore his cross, having al- 
ready suffered so much, they made Simon carry the cross. 

At length they came to a spot called Golgotha, and there “ they 
gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall ; and when he had 
tasted thereof he would not drink.” Nothing is more cruel than 
to mock one that is thirsty ; what then must his sufferings have 
been when so mocked after enduring so many tortures and insults ! 
Compassionate people usually mixed a drink to cheer the spirits 


i — 



of the victims going to execution, and to stupefy them in their 
griefs ; but none offered to compassionate the blessed Jesus, but 
only to add misery to misery. Vinegar would have quenched 
his thirst, but gall mixed with vinegar was a nauseous draught 
indeed ! 

And now he was stripped naked, and his garments were part* 
ed by lots among the soldiers who were engaged in his execution ; 
and, being crucified, the soldiers sat down to watch him, lest any 
of his disciples should take him down before be was dead. 

It was usual to write the offender’s accusation, and to have it 
carried before him to the place of execution ; but Christ’s was 
written on his cross, “This is JESUS, the King of the Jews.” 

Two thieves were at the same time crucified with him, “ one 
on the right hand, and another on the left.” 

As the cross was placed by the road side, the mob from Jeru- 
salem that passed by it, wagged their heads in derision at Jesus, 
( and reviled or blasphemed him, and told him that if he was the 
j Son of God, he ought to show it, by coming down from the cross ! 

js? He was, indeed, soon to show that he was the Son of God, but it 

\l would be in another way, after their malice was satisfied, by ris- 
ing from his tomb. The chief priests and scribes also united in 
mocking him, and said, if he would come down from the cross 
they would believe him. This was not true; they knew that he 
had raised the dead, and yet they would not believe him; and 
now they had filled up the measure of their iniquity, and must 
bear their guilt. The crucified thieves also mocked him. 

At noon-day, called by the Jews “ the sixth hour,” there came 
on a darkness, which lasted for three hours, and spread over all 
the land. And at the ninth hour, or “ three o’clock in the after- 
noon,” Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, “ My God, my God, 
why hast thou forsaken me?” and so his human nature sunk 
upon the cross. Some thought he cried out from being so thirsty, 
and handed him some vinegar in a sponge put upon a reed; and 
now Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost, or 

yielded up his spirit. . 

Oh, what were his sufferings! His bodily sufferings were in- 
deed ’great, but these were nothing compared with those of his 




9-88 child’s commentator. 

soul. For God to forsake him at that moment, how awful ! Bui 
why did God forsake him ? God hates sin. The mnocent Jesus 
then bore our sins. This was the reason why he yielded to death. 
The Jews were wicked in killing him, and did it all of their own 
accord and out of the malice of their own hearts ; but they could 
not have killed Christ if he had not willingly given himself to 
their malice and cruelty. And this, that in his death, he might 
bear the sins of all his people, for he himself was innocent — and 
it was these sins that caused God to withhold his comforts from 
him. Well may we adore the blessed Jesus for such a display 
of love. But, if he cried out beneath the weight of man’s guilt, 
what must those sinners endure, who will not believe in him and 
be saved, and so doom themselves to bear the weight of their 
own guilt for ever? 

But, besides the great darkness, the veil of the temple was rent 
1 4\ from top to bottom, the earth quaked, and even the rocks were 
If split asunder. The thick tapestry veil was rent, as a sign that all 
i that was sacred in the ceremonies of the law was now over, and 
those ceremonies of no use; for the great Saviour and sacrifice 
whom all signified, was now come, and had finished his work for 
guilty men. The earth quaked, perhaps as a sign of the dreadful 
shaking which was soon to befal the whole Jewish nation; and 
the rocks were split asunder, to shame the hearts of the people, 
more hardened than those rocks. 

These things convinced the soldiers who watched Jesus, and 
the centurion who commanded them, that he was no common 
person ; and they were struck with fear, and said, “ Truly this 
was the Son of God.” 

Many women also, who followed him from Galilee, were wit- 
nesses of his crucifixion ; among whom “ was Mary Magdalene, 
and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of 
Zebedee’s children.” 

On the second evening, when the Jewish Sabbath was about to 
begin, the body of Jesus was obliged to be removed; and Joseph 
of Arimathea, a rich man, and secretly attached to Christ, went 
to Pilate, and begged his body, which could not be taken down 
and buried, without permission being given by the Roman gov 




child’s commentator. 909 

ernor. Leave being granted, “ he wrapped it in a clean linen 
cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out 
in the rock” — for the sepulchres of the Jews w'ere made in rocks ; 
• — “ and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and 
departed.” 

The day following, the chief priests and Pharisees went to Pi- 
late, and, fearing lest the disciples should steal the body of Christ 
and say it was risen, they begged that they might have the tomb 
guarded. So they made all as sure as they could, and sealed the 
stone that nobody might remove it, and set a watch or guard of 
soldiers to prevent any one approaching. This was one of the 
happiest events that could have taken place, because it furnished 
in the end the surest proofs that Jesus was not stolen away, but 
that he arose from the grave. 


THE TWENTY-EIGHTH CHAPTER OF ST. MATTHEW. 

The Resurrection of Christ. 

“ He is risen, as he said.” — Verse 6. 



It is reckoned that Christ lay in the tomb thirty-six or thirty- 
eight hours. At the dawn of day, on the first day of the week, 
Mary Magdalene, and Mary, the wife of Cleophas, went to the 
sepulchre, still lingering over the dear remains of their beloved 
Lord. “ And, behold, there was a great earthquake : for the 
Angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled 
back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance 
was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow : and for fear 
of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.” These 
keepers were Roman soldiers, the most courageous men in the 
world ; but they were frightened at the scene. If the resurrection 
of Christ was so awful, what must his coming to judgment be ! 
How will the guilty quake then ! 




970 child’s commentator. 


When the women approached the sepulchre, the Angel spoke 
kindly to them, and told them that the Lord was risen, and de- 
sired them to tell the glad news to the disciples, who were great- 
ly discouraged at his crucifixion and death, and they were to as- 
sure them he would soon meet them in Galilee. 

The women ran with all speed to tell the disciples, but on their 
way Jesus himself met them and saluted them ; and they fell at 
his feet, and held them, and worshipped him : and he repeated 
the orders to go into Galilee. 

But what did the Roman soldiers do ? They were set to guard 
the body of Jesus, and yet he had escaped. How could they es- 
cape punishment for this 1 ? They went into the city and told the 
simple story how it happened, and how terrified they were. 
“ They showed unto the chief priests all the things, that were 
done how that there had been a very great earthquake, and a 
4 } very surprising appearance ; for one like a young man descended 
[ from the clouds, whose countenance was like lightning, and his 
raiment white as snow, which filled them with astonishment and 
dread ; that he rolled away the stone from the sepulchre, and then 
if sat upon it ; and that some women, coming to the sepulchre, were 

I shown by him where the body had been laid, but was now gone ; 

and how, that after they had recovered themselves from the 
fright, they had themselves examined the sepulchre, and the body 
was certainly gone ; and sure they were that the women did not 
carry it away, nor any others ‘ K all which they thought proper to 
relate to the chief priests ; partly on their own account, to clear 
themselves from the charge of bribery and corruption, and sloth 
and negligence ; and partly that the chief priests might consider 
what further was proper to be done. 

Now it would not do to bring the guards to trial for letting 
Jesus escape, for they would have defended themselves by telling 
the truth, and only have spread the account of the resurrection 
more abroad. So it was settled that a story should be made up, 
that the disciples came by night and stole the body away while 
the guards slept; and the elders gave the soldiers a large reward 
to keep the resurrection secret. But this story, after all, was a 
very poor one ; for it was not very likely that the timid disciples,. 




who all forsook Christ and fled, would have stolen his body from 
the Roman soldiers ; nor that all the guards would have been 
asleep ; and even if they had, it was more than probable that 
some would have roused up, and the disciples would then have 
endured their vengeance. And then, it was very strange that 
the Roman soldiers should have been saved from punishment, 
after they had slept upon their watch, which, by their laws, was 
deemed a heavy crime : but it was settled that the Jewish elders 
should explain the matter to the Roman governor if the aflair 
came under his notice, and that so the soldiers should not be 
injured. The bungling nature of the story shows that the 
soldiers told a lie, and that they could not prevent the resurrec- 
tion of our blessed Saviour, though they were even set to watch 
his tomb. Their story, reported by the Jews even to this day, 
is a delightful encouragement to our belief that Jesus Christ arose 
from the dead on the third day, but not the only proof we pos- 
1 sess ; for the eleven disciples went into Galilee, and there he met 
Si them after his resurrection, and he commanded them to go and 
sji preach the gospel to every creature ; to tell men the glad tidings, 
or good news, that he had died to save sinners, and that whoso- 
ever believed in him should never perish ; and that he had risen 
again, and was therefore an ever-living Saviour, to whom all sin- 
ners might look for salvation to the end of time. When any pro- 
fessed sincerely to believe their message, they were to baptize 
them with water “in the name of the Rather, and of the Son, and 
of the Holy Ghost,” one God; and this was to show, that in like 
manner, the Holy Spirit would purify their hearts who truly be- 
lieved in him, and was to be a bold avowal before the world, that 
they were the followers of him who was crucified. As a further 
proof that those baptized were his followers, they were to do all 
his holy commands, and then all of them might expect his bless- 
ing and favour, “ even unto the end of the world. Amen.” 



072 


child’s commentator. 


THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MAEK. 


THE FIRST CHAPTER OF ST. MARK. 

“ The gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” — Ver. 1. 


Mark is shorter than Matthew. It is merely a repetition of 
the same history by another hand, with here and there some few 
facts not mentioned by Matthew. Some of these are all that need 
therefore be added in this place. 

In the fourth chapter we have the Parable of the Seed, which 
appears to have been delivered at the same time that the Parable 
of the Sower was, as we have read in Matthew, but was not 
mentioned by him with that parable. Thuts, that nothing im- 
portant might be lost, one evangelist has supplied what another 
has omitted, as well as confirmed the truth of all that the other 
has said. 

The parable given by Mark is contained in the verses between 
the twenty-fifth and the thirtieth, of the fourth chapter ; and, from 
the manner of seed growing, after it is cast into the ground, and 
though the sower sleeps, yet, springing up — he hardly knows how 
— our blessed Lord encourages his ministers and friends to spread 
abroad his gospel, which, though they may not always see its 
fruits suddenly, will, in like manner, spring up in the hearts of 
men. So he encourages my labouring for you, my young friend, 
and all such labours, by signifying, in this parable, that, as the 
wheat springs up, first in the blade, and then in the shape of the 
ear, and then bears the full corn in the ear, — in like manner, his 
blessed word sown in the heart shall spring up and produce its 
blessed fruits. But then it must be sown there. Is it sown in 
your heart ? Do you receive it there as the word of God 1 If 




ST MARK XII 


' < 


W/]/ 






BJETHSAIDA. 








CHILD 8 COMMENTATOR. 


975 


so, you will not trifle with it. You will not forget, but try all in 
your power to remember it. And, if you remember it properly, 
you will obey it, and call it to recollection at all times, so that it 
will direct you in all your actions. 

In the seventh chapter, Mark gives us the particulars of Christ’s 
curing a deaf man. “And he put his fingers in his ears, and he 
spit, and touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, he 
sighed, and saith unto him, Be opened,” and his deafness was 
cured, and “ he spake plain.” Most likely he might have once 
had his hearing, and have learned to speak a little, but having lost 
his hearing early in life, he could learn no more ; but now with 
his hearing he learns also to speak. This kind action of Christ 
made the people look upon him with admiration, and they said, 
“ He hath done all things well ; he maketh both the deaf to hear 
and the dumb to speak.” 

You may perhaps ask why Christ put his fingers in the deaf 
person’s ears, and spat upon his tongue ? I cannot tell you ; but 
most likely to show us, that we must use means to get our dis- 
eases cured ; and, by his looking up to heaven, we are taught to 
pray to God to bless all means used to cure us when we are sick ; 
and, by his sighing, I suppose he showed his compassion for the 
unfortunate, and thought at the moment of the evils which sin 
has brought upon mankind. 

In the eighth chapter is related the cure of a blind man at 
Bethsaida, on whose eyes he spit, and he put his hand upon them. 
And the man directly saw men as trees walking : he could not 
exactly make out their shape from a tree. He put his hands on 
his eyes a second time, and then he saw clearly : teaching us, 
perhaps, to persevere in the use of proper means. But both in 
this case and in that of the deaf man, the means were only signs ; 
they could never have cured the man if administered by a com- 
mon physician : these were miracles, — things not of a common 
kind, and showed that he who performed them could only be the 
Son of God. 

In the last chapter we have some further particulars about 
Christ’s resurrection ; and his encouragement to his disciples to 
preach his gospel and work miracles in his name, which would 
36 



976 child’s commentator. 

prove that their message was divine, and establish the truth of it 
at its beginning, before all the world. They were to cast out de- 
vils, who then possessed the bodies of men, just as Jesus had cast 
them out ; they were to speak new languages which they had 
never learnt, so as to be able to tell men of every country about 
the way of salvation through Jesus Christ; they were to take up 
serpents without being bitten or endangered by them ; if any 
attempt should be made to poison them, the deadly portion, which 
would kill other persons, should do them no harm ; and if sick 
persons were brought to them to be cured, they should only lay 
their hands upon them, and they would recover. You must, how- 
ever, remember that there was this great distinction between the 
miracles performed by Jesus and those performed by his disciples, 
that Jesus did all his by his own power, and without using any 
other name ; but the power which the disciples had was not their 
own, but only what he gave them, and they were to work miracles 
only in his name ; and thus, when the apostle Peter cured a lame 
man, as we shall soon read in the Acts, he said, “ In the name of 
Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” These miracles are 
not now needed, because we have so many proofs left us that they 
were done by the first ministers, and the religion of Jesus is every 
where spread and spreading without them. Besides, his Holy 
Spirit, by working powerfully on the hearts of sinners, in convert- 
ing or turning them from their wicked ways, is working miracles 
every day. None can turn the bad heart into a good one but God 
himself; but he makes the unbeliever to believe, and turns him 
from the slavery of sin to serve him, the living and true God. 

Mark further informs us more than Matthew, as he not only 
mentions Christ’s command to his disciples, but the effect of their 
obeying it, and preaching the gospel to every creature ; for “ they 
went forth and preached every where, the Lord working with 
them, and confirming the word with signs following.” Amen. 



977 



child’s commentator. 


THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. LUKE. 


THE FIRST CHAPTER OF ST. LUKE. 

The Birth of John the Baptist. 

“ And the child grew and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the 
deserts, till the day of his showing unto Israel.” — Ver. 80. 

/ Luke is thought to have been the same mentioned by the apos- 
tle Paul in several of his Epistles, and especially in that to the 
Colossians, as “ Luke the beloved physician.” 

It seems that many persons, who were witnesses of what Luke 
relates about Christ, or had heard many things respecting the 
Saviour from those who knew him on earth, were writing a simi- 
lar history about him. The four Evangelists, however, were the 
best qualified for this, and the church of Christ, in the earliest 
age, received their accounts as the most correct. 

This Evangelist tells us some particulars about the birth of 
John the Baptist, which are not mentioned by the other three. 
That his father was a priest of the name of Zacharias — that his 
wife’s name was Elizabeth, and that she was sprung from the race 
of Aaron — that they were both very good people, and walked 
together in the holy ways of God— and that John the Baptist was 
born when they w ere “ well stricken in years,” or quite old. 

The birth of this remarkable forerunner of Christ was pre- 
dicted, like that of his Divine Master, in a very wonderful 
way. John’s father, Zacharias, was burning incense in the 





978 child’s commentator. 

temple, while the people “ were praying without,” when an angel 
appeared to him and told him that his son should be born, and 
that he must call him John — a name which means, the grace and 
favour of God ; and this was to show, that God’s grace would be 
upon him in a very striking manner. He was to be separated 
from the world, like the ancient Nazarites, (Numb. vi. 8) to 
drink “ neither wine nor strong drink and God would bless his 
preaching, so that he should turn many of the children of Israel 
to the Lord their God. He should have the same holiness, courage, 
and zeal, as Elias, or Elijah, to turn the disobedient into the ways 
of wisdom. Zacharias, though a good man, doubted the truth of 
what the angel told him, and asked for some sign from which he 
might have better reason to believe that what he said would come 
to pass. The angel told him he should be dumb till the child was 
born, and this should be a sign, and, at the same time, a reproof 
for his doubting the message which God had sent. 

The people wondered that Zacharias should remain so long in 
the temple, and when he came out he had lost his speech, as the 
angel had said. Elizabeth, his wife, at length had a son ; and 
when he was to be circumcised at eight days old, he had his name 
given to him. It was usual to name the son after the father, and 
the friends and relations present would have had him called 
Zacharias, but Elizabeth having been informed in writing, by her 
husband, of all that had taken place, — in obedience to the com 
mand of the angel, would have him called John. The friends, 
however, asked the father what he would have him called ; and 
he by signs asked for a writing tablet, or little table made of 
brass, wood, or wax, used in those days, — and wrote or scratch- 
ed upon it, as they then did with an iron pen, “ His name is 
John. And they marvelled all.” 

No sooner had Zacharias obeyed the divine command, than his 
tongue was unloosed, and he spake as before. 

This event, which caused so great wonder among all present, 
was soon reported throughout the hill country of Judea, where 
they dwelt : and all that feared God were filled with awe at this 
extraordinary child, and anxiously waited to see for what pur- 
pose he had been sent into the world. 



CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


979 


His father, Zacharias, was then “ filled with the Holy Ghost,” 
or the Holy Spirit inspired him to prophesy about the coming 
of Christ. And John grew up, but loved retirement, and went 
into desert and lonely places, no doubt God holding sweet com- 
munion with his spirit, or talking as it were with his holy mind ; 
and so he remained till he came to proclaim Christ’s coming, 
“ preaching in the wilderness of Judea,” as we have already seen 
in Matthew. 


THE SECOND CHAPTER OP 6T. LUKE. 

The Birth and Early Days of Jesus Christ. 

“ For unto you is born this day, a Saviour, which is Christ the 
Lord.” — Verse 11. 

About the same time that John the Baptist was born, Jesus 
was born also : John was born not more than six months before 
Christ. At this time Caesar Augustus, who was the second Em- 
peror of Rome, reigned over that empire, which had become so 
large from its conquests that it was called “ all the world.” Judea, 
you know, was then tributary to it, or paid taxes to the Roman 
government. But a particular sort of tax was now determined 
on by the Emperor, which is called a poll-tax, or tax upon the 
head of every person ; and to make sure of all the subjects in the 
empire, they were obliged to attend in person at an appointed 
place, and be enrolled, or entered in a. book. 

It is a remarkable fact, that the Emperor had resolved on this 
tax twenty-seven years before ; but disturbances in the empire dis- 
tracted his attention, and it was only now, when all the world were 
at peace, that he had time to attend to it. See here how Provi- 
dence overrules all things. Had he been able to carry his purpose 
into effect before, then the mother of Jesus would not have been 
there with her husband Joseph, and Jesus would not have been 
born in Bethlehem, but at Nazareth, where he was afterwards 




980 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


brought up. But if he had been born at Nazareth instead of Beth- 
lehem, then the prophecy respecting him would not have been 
fulfilled, as recorded in the fifth chapter ofMicah, and the second 
verse, and the fact that he was the true Messiah would have so far 
been doubtful. But here the ambitious views of a Roman Emperor 
to fill his coffers with money, were made to bring about the ful- 
filment of God’s promise to his church, by bringing the parents of 
Jesus to Bethlehem, the place prophesied of, where he was born. 

At this time one Cyrenius was governor of Syria, which was 
annexed to Judea, and he had the management of the tax. And 
every one went to his own city where he was born, or the place 
where his inheritance lay ; and as Joseph’s family sprung from 
David’s city, and, indeed, from David himself, though he was 
now a poor man, — he had to go up to Bethlehem. 

The city was so crowded that there was no room for the infant 
Saviour and his mother in the place, called by us the Inn, though 
rather a sort of lodging-place only. He was, therefore, born and 
lodged in a place for the accommodation of cattle. 

Now there were some shepherds in the fields near Bethlehem, 
who were lying out watching their flocks at night, to preserve 
them from beasts of prey, when an angel appeared to them, sur 
rounded with a bright glory, and told them not to be afraid, for 
he came not to hurt them, but to tell them the glad news, that 
the long-expected Saviour was born. And a multitude of other 
happy spirits joined the first messenger, and sang in the sweetest 
strains — “ Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good 
will towards men” — that is, glory be to God in the highest hea- 
vens, and let all the happy spirits there praise him, for peace is 
now to dwell upon earth in Christ, the great peace-maker between 
God and guilty men, and every kind of blessing will proceed 
from him. 

And when the angels departed, the shepherds went to Bethle- 
hem and saw Jesus, as the messenger had exactly described him, 
“ wrapped in swaddling clothes,” or bound closely up, as was the 
way in England a hundred and fifty years ago, instead of infants 
having their limbs free, as they are now, — and he was “ lying in 
a manger.” And they told every one they knew what wonderful 



child’s commentator. 


981 


things they had seen, and praised God for his great mercy in send- 
ing a Saviour into the world. Let us praise him too. 

After this Jesus was circumcised. This was a Jewish cere 
mony, by which he became a member of the church and nation. 
Then he was redeemed , another custom of the J ews ; for when God 
slew all the first-born of the Egyptians, he protected the Israelites, 
who, according to his command, given through Moses, had sprinkled 
the lintels and posts of their doors with the blood of the pass-over 
Lamb ; and from that time he kept up the remembrance of this 
mercy, by demanding the first-born to be consecrated to him ; 
“ for,” said he, by Moses, “ all the first-born of the children of Israel 
are mine, both man and beast: on the day that I smote every 
first-born in the land of Egypt, I sanctified them for myself.” 
Instead of giving them up, however, to the service of the tabernacle, 

( which was consecrating them entirely to God, as the Levites were, 
— “ the first-born of man might be redeemed for five shekels,” or 
i about three dollars and twelve cents of our money, which went to 
=fc the service of the sanctuary. As no mention is, however, made 
7 here of the performance of this custom, it is supposed by some, that 
“ in case of poverty, the priest was allowed take less, or perhaps 
nothing.” Our Lord’s mother also presented her offerings further 
custom usual on such an occasion. Had she been able she ought 
to have presented a lamb for a burnt-offering, and a dove for a sin- 
offering ; but as she was poor, and not able to purchase a lamb, she 
took two turtle-doves; for so the Lord had ordered by Moses, “ If 
she be not able to bring a lamb, then she shall bring two turtles, 
or two young pigeons ; the one for a burnt-offering, and the other 
for a sin-offering : and the priest shall make an atonement for her, 
and she shall be clean.” This custom was to teach the Jews, and 
us also, that we ought to thank God for all our mercies, and that 
when we do so, we should express our unworthiness of them by 
confessing our sins — we must present the sin-offering together with 
the burnt-offering. 

While the infant Jesus was in the temple, there came in a good 
old man named Simeon, who had been anxiously waiting for the 
coming of the Messiah ; and God having shown him by his Holy 
Spirit that the Saviour, whom his heart desired to see, had come, 



982 


child’s commentator. 


he took him up in his arms, and blessed God that he had lived to 
see him, and said, he could now depart in peace, since he had seen 
God’s salvation. “ One Anna, a prophetess,” who was eighty- 
four years of age, also entered the temple, and “ gave thanks unto 
the Lord, and spake of’ Jesus “ unto all them that looked for 
redemption in Jerusalem.” 

After these things Joseph and Mary, with the infant Saviour, 

“ returned into Galilee, to 
their own city Nazareth.” 

And the child Jesus was 
brought up at Nazareth, 
under the care of his pa- 
rents, and he waxed, or 
grew, “ strong in spirit,” 
giving signs of a wonder- 
ful mind, and of great 
piety, for “ the grace of 
God was upon him.” And 
here you may observe, 
that those children are the 
most lik< 
the most 
love and 

When Jesus was twelve years old, his parents went up to the 
temple, to the feast of the passover, in remembrance of the deli- 
verance from Egypt, and he went with them. Not that he had 
not been before, but something now occurred which made the 
Evangelist Luke take notice of him at this age. For, when the feast 
was over, and they returned with a number of other families that 
had gone for the same purpose, J esus remained behind. His parents 
did not miss him till the end of the day ; for as he was amiable 
and beloved by all who knew him, they supposed that he was 
among some of their friends and acquaintances on the road ; but 
not hearing anything of him, they became uneasy, and went back 
the next day to Jerusalem, and it was not till the third day that 
they found him. But where was hel Not in bad company, for 
he never stood in the way of sinners ; nor was he at play, for he 



} Jesus that give 
evidence that they 
fear God. 



SIMEON AND ANNA IN THE TEMELK. 





CHRIST DISPUTING WITH THE DOCTORS 






child’s commentator. 985 

was of an age to learn, and he was improving his time, and get- 
ting knowledge from the doctors of the temple. The teachers of 
the law were used to instruct the young there, and they were al- 
lowed to ask any questions they pleased, for the purpose of learn- 
ing. Jesus had, therefore, placed himself at their feet, and was 
“both hearing them and asking them questions.” “And all that 
heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.” 

His parents wondered to find what he was about, and to see 
how much he was approved. And his mother gently chided him 
for having given them so much alarm for his safety ; but he re- 
plied, “Wist ye not,” or, know ye not, “that I was about my 
Father’s business,” or, “ in my Father’s house V * 

His mother remembered this and other sayings, and waited to 
see what wonderful works he would do when he should grow 
•up and become a man. 

So they returned to Nazareth, and there he lived obedient to 
his parents, and growing in favour “ both with God and men 
his behaviour, says the pious Dr. Doddridge, “ being not only 
remarkably religious, but so benevolent and obliging as to gain 
the favour and affection of all that were about him.” 

You will observe that most of these interesting facts about the 
birth and early days of Jesus Christ, are not mentioned by the 
Evangelists Matthew and Mark, and are therefore given by Luke. 


THE THIRD AND FOURTH CHAPTERS OF ST. LUKE. 

Christ persecuted at Nazareth . 

And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it 
was written, 

“ The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed 
me to preach the gospel to the poor ; he hath sent me to heal 
the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and 
recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that 
are bruised, 

“ To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”— Chap. iv. 17, 18, 19. 




sm 



986 child’s commentator. 

We shall now glance at some other matters mentioned by this 
Evangelist which have not been before noticed, and run through 
many chapters. 

Luke tells us the exact time when John the Baptist made his 
first public appearance. It was in the fifteenth year of the reign 
of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea ; and, 
as the dominions of Herod the Great had been divided after his 
death, Herod Antipas, one of his sons, was tetrarch of Galilee, or 
governor of that fourth of his dominions ; and his brother Philip , 
tetrarch of another fourth part, which was the region of Iturcea 
and Trachonitis , — the name which was now given to the tract of 
land on the other side of Jordan, which had formerly belonged to 
the tribe of Manasseh, — and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene , a 
fair city of Syria, whose territories reached even to Lebanon and 
Damascus, and were peopled with great numbers of Jews. At 
that time, also, Annas and Caiaplias were high priests. — not that 
there were two real high priests, for the Jews had but one at a 
time, but Annas had been high priest, and had been removed, 
and his son-in-law, Caiaphas, appointed; Annas was afterwards 
appointed again, and they officiated by turns for several years. 

John the Baptist began his office, as we before read, preaching 
repentafice. This Evangelist tells us what he said to the people, 
when they asked him what they should do to show that they re- 
pented. He told them that one mark was that the covetous should 
be charitable and kind. Then the publicans, or tax-gatherers, ask- 
ed him, and he told them that they must not be dishonest, and 
take from others more than they ought to do ; a practice which 
was common among them. The soldiers also asked him the 
same question, and he told them to injure nobody by violence, 
and not to raise mutinies and seditions. We see by this, that 
whatever bad conduct we have been accustomed to we must en- 
tirely forsake if we would sincerely repent. 

The third chapter contains a long list of names like the first 
chapter of St. Matthew. They are, however, reversed in their order, 
and somewhat different, but both are designed to trace up the ge- 
nealogy of Jesus Christ through its proper line — that is, to show 
who were his forefathers after the flesh. Matthew traces it forward 




from Abraham down to Joseph; and Luke traces it backwards 
from Mary, or Joseph as the husband of Mary, and so the son, by 
marriage of Heli, who was Mary’s father. In looking through 
them you will see that Joseph and Mary were both of the house 
and lineage of David, and therefore Christ was the son of David, 
as he was called, and the true Messiah who was to spring up in 
his line. 




988 CHILD 8 COMMENTATOR. 


John the Baptist having been thrown into prison by the wicked 
Herod, Jesus went into the interior of Galilee. 

There his fame had already spread, and he went from place to 
place, teaching in the synagogues, while every one admired him, 
and declared, “ they never heard such preaching in all their lives.” 
“And he came to Nazareth,” where he had been brought up, and, 
as his custom was, “ he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath, and 
stood up for to read,” for this was a constant part of the Jewish 
worship. “And there was delivered unto him the book of the 
prophet Esaias,” or Isaiah — the former being the Greek, and the 
latter the Hebrew, for the prophet’s name — just, for instance, as 
Louis Philippe is the French for the late king of the French, 
and Lewis Philip the English name of the same king. “ And 
when he had opened the book,” or unrolled the volume — for the 
Hebrew Scriptures were written on long pieces of parchment, fas- 
tened at each end on sticks, and so rolled up — he found the place 
where there was written the forty-first chapter of Isaiah, and the 
first, second, and third verses. Having read the passage, “closed 
the book,” and rolled it up, he “ sat down,” as the Jews used to do, 
to preach, while “the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue 
were fastened on him,” being very curious to know what he was 
going to say about a text which they knew' described the Messiah. 
And he then discoursed upon the passage, and told them that the 
Scripture was that day fulfilled in their hearing. 

His w'ords w'ere so full of grace, both in the precious truths 
which he uttered, and in the way in which he uttered them, that 
all his hearers were exceedingly surprised ; but yet they could not 
forget that he was the son of the humble Joseph, and had been 
brought up at Nazareth under his care, “ and they said, Is not 
this Joseph’s son 1” 

Jesus knew what they thought. And he said, “Ye will surely 
say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself.” You have 
worked miracles abroad, now do so athome. “Whatsoever we have 
heard done in Capernaum, do also in thy country.” And he said, 
“ Verily, I say unto you, no prophet is accepted in his own coun- 
try,” which was another proverb, or common saying. By this he 
meant, that his miracles would be thrown away upon them ; for 





child’s commentator. 


989 


they would still think from whom he was descended, and wonder 
at what he did as they now wondered at what he said — but they 
would not believe in him as the true Messiah. Jn the days of 
Elias, or Elijah, though there were many widows living in Israel, 
he performed the miracle of multiplying the cruse of oil for a wi- 
dow of Sarepta, a city of the Gentiles ; and in the time of Eliseus, 
or Elisha, the prophet, though there were many lepers in Israel, 
he cured none but Naaman, who also was a Syrian, and a hea- 
then. So our blessed Saviour intimated, he would do miracles 
for and in the presence of heathen rather than before them, for he 
knew they were so hardened that they would not believe in him. 

This faithful address turned their admiration into rage, and 
rising up at once in a tumultuous manner, without any reverence 
to the place or day, they violently cast him out of the synagogue, 
and out of the city too, and brought him to the very brow of the 
mountain on which their city was built, that they might cast him 
down headlong, and dash him to pieces. But Jesus, when he had 
permitted their madness to go thus far, confounded their sight in 
such a miraculous manner, that he passed through the midst of 
them unknown, and went away to the neighbouring city of Ca- 
pernaum, where he abode for some time. 



I have given you the latter part of this account in the w r ords 
of Dr. Doddridge, because I think I cannot possibly make it 
more plain. 


THE FIFTH, SIXTH, SEVENTH, EIGHTH AND NINTH CHAPTERS OF 
ST. LUKE. 

Christ's Miracle of the Draught of Fishes — Christ Raises the Wi- 
dow's Son — The- Penitent Woman. 

u And there came a fear on all, and they glorified God, saying, 
That a great prophet is risen up among us, and that God has 
visited his people.” — Chap. vii. 16. 

While our Lord was at Capernaum, we find him continually 
engaged in doing good, teaching in the synagogue, and instructing 



990 



child’s commentator. 


the people at all other opportunities. Where he went he was 
attended by crowds, and, on one occasion, they were so great that 
they “ pressed upon him to hear the word of God, as he stood by 
the lake of Gennesareth.” Seeing two fishing-vessels near the 
shore he went into one of them, and, pushing off a little way 
from the shore, he there “ sat down and taught the people out of 
the ship.” 

The fishermen who owned the vessels had been very unsuccess- 
ful in their last night’s labours, for they had toiled all the night, 
and taken nothing. When Christ had done preaching, and feeding 
them with food for their souls, he now thought of their bodies 
also, and he desired them to launch out into the deep, and let 
down their nets for a draught of fishes. They had little hope of 
success, but, in obedience to Christ’s word, they were disposed to 
try. The nets were let down, and they drew them up so full of 
fishes that one of them brake, and the fishes taken so overloaded 
both the vessels that they began to sink. All were astonished ; 
and Simon Peter, who was one of the party, with his partners, 
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, fell down on his knees, and 
cried out, “ Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord;” — 
meaning that he was not worthy of the high honour of having 
Jesus on board his vessel, and of continuing in his presence. Jesus 
encouraged the timid man, and told him that he would employ 
him in a far nobler work, and that henceforth he should catch 
men. And so it came to pass when, — if we compare the gospel 
to a net, — he caught three thousand souls at once by his preach- 
ing, as we shall read in the Acts of the Apostles. Matthew and 
Mark have given no more of what happened at this time than 
merely that Christ sat down in the ship and taught ; »o Luke has 
supplied what they omitted. 

In the sixth chapter of Luke we find a beautiful discourse of 
our Lord’s, something like that which we call the Beatitudes, in 
the. beginning of Matthew. That, however, was delivered on a 
mount, and this on a plain ; and, on examining them and com- 
paring them together, we find them differing very much, though 
parts of the former discourse were repeated in this, it being an- 
other assembly. 





/ 


-? 



MIRACLE AT NAIN. 


% 






MARY AND MARTHA. 









child’s commentator. 993 

In the seventh chapter, the Evangelist informs us of Christ’s 
raising to life the son of the widow of Nain. He was just at the 
moment entering into that city, and a number of his disciples and 
followers were with him ; and on approaching the gate, he met 
a funeral procession. The dead person was a young man, the 
only son of a widow. The custom was not to inclose the body in 
a coffin, as with us, but to carry it on an open bier, borne on the 
shoulders, just merely covering the corpse with a cloth. The poor 
widow followed in great sorrow, weeping, most likely, ready to 
break her heart ; and who could help her 1 She seems to have 
been much respected, and so was her son, by the large concourse 
that attended the funeral ; but her friends and neighbours could 
only pity her. Jesus pitied her too, for he had a heart full of 
tenderness, as he has now r ; but he could do something more for 
her than mere mortals, he had power even over death; and so he 
j said kindly to the widow, “ Weep not. And he came and 
touched the bier, and they that bare him stood still, and 
\ he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was 
; dead sat up, and began to speak ; and he delivered him to his 
mother.” Are not you delighted at this proof of his tenderness 
and power ? I am : I even now feel my heart beating with joy 
as I think I see the poor widow rejoicing through her tears, 
drying them up, and eagerly embracing her beloved son, whom 
she had expected never more to see upon earth. O what pleasure 
there is in doing good, and in relieving the truly miserable ! It 
gives pleasure to ourselves as well as to others. But I rejoice to 
think of this proof of our divine Lord’s power ; for he is the same 
now that he was then ; and though he will no more prove his 
divine power by miracles like these, yet if we love and serve him, 
in the last day he shall raise us up, not to punish us for our sins, 
but to change our vile bodies, and give us everlasting life. 

In the same chapter, we have also an account of a woman that 
had been a notorious sinner, who entered the house where Christ 
was dining with one of the Pharisees. He, as usual, was engaged 
in speaking the words of instruction, and she listened to him w ith 
the greatest attention. Every word touched her heart, and as his 
feet lay bare on the couch, according to custom, the tears fell in a 



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child’s commentator. 


shower from her eyes, and bathed them all over. She, perceiving 
this, wiped them with the tresses of her hair, which hung loose 
about her shoulders, and then, not thinking herself worthy to 
anoint his head, she kissed his feet, and poured upon them some 
liquid perfume. The Pharisee was surprised that a holy prophet, 
as Jesus professed to be. should allow a woman of such a class to 
approach him ; and though he did not speak, Jesus knew what he 
thought. And he told him there were two debtors ; and the one 
owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. As they were unable 
to pay, their creditor kindly forgave them. Now, he would ask the 
Pharisee, which of these was likely to love the kind creditor most? 
“ Why,” said the Pharisee, “ the one who had most forgiven him.” 
“ Rightly said,” answered our Lord ; “ now thou hast not had the 
sense of pardon as this woman. My words touched her heart ; 
she has sincerely repented ; her many sins are forgiven her, and 
she therefore loves me much.” Oh, my young reader, we are all 
great sinners, and if we believe ourselves, like this woman, to be 
so, we shall bitterly repent, and turn to the Saviour, with weeping 
and supplication — for he knew how she pleaded in her heart. We 
shall also love him much, and though now we can neither bathe 
his feet with our tears, nor wipe them with the hairs of our head, 
nor anoint them with perfume, in token of our love to him, yet 
we can show our love to him by the expressions of our hearts, 
and by manifesting it towards all that love him. 

Some think that this is the same woman that we read about in 
the twenty-sixth chapter of Matthew ; but many who have care- 
fully studied their Bible, think otherwise, and for these reasons : 
the story told by Matthew happened in Bethany, this in Galilee ; 
that in the house of Simon the leper, and this in the house of 
Simon the pharisee ; that was but two days before the death of 
Christ, and this a considerable time before ; the ointment that 
woman poured was poured upon his head, and this upon his feet. 

In the second verse of the eighth chapter we have mention 
made of “ Mary called Magdalene,” or Mary of Magdala, so called, 
just as Jesus was called Jesus of Nazareth ; for Magdala was the 
place of residence of this Mary, as Nazareth was that of Jesus. 
Out of this woman our Lord cast seven evil spirits, which, I have 



before remarked, were suffered then in an extraordinary manner 
to torment the minds and bodies of men. She was a notorious 
sinner, and these demons, in the opinion of the pious Dr. Doddridge, 
“ probably for the sins of her former life, were suffered by God to 
agitate and torment her in such a manner as to render her a 
spectacle of great horror.” 


THE TENTH CHAPTER OF ST. LUKE. 


The Seventy Disciples sent forth — The inquiring Lawyer — The 
Good Samaritan — Martha and Mary. 

“ And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed 
are the eyes which see the things which ye see ; for I tell you 
that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things 
which ye see, and have not seen them ; and to hear those 
things which ye hear, and have not heard them.” — Ver. 23, 24. 

In the tenth chapter we are told, that, besides the twelve 
apostles, which Jesus chose to be witnesses to his truth, and to 
declare it to the world, — he also sent forth seventy disciples, who 
were to go in company with each other, two one way and two 
another way, and so with the whole. But while they were to 
conduct themselves harmlessly as lambs, they were to expect to 
meet with furious behaviour from those wicked men who would 
hate their doctrines, and be ready like wolves to tear them in 
pieces. They were also to depend upon his providence to incline 
the hearts of men to supply them with what they might need, and 
were, therefore, to take no purse for their money, nor scrip or bag 
for their provisions, nor any more shoes than they had on their 
feet. They were, moreover, to salute no one by the way, for the 
Eastern mode of saluting is sometimes long and tedious, and 
therefore, while they were to be rude to none, they were to show 
that more important business engaged their attention than mere 
talk about common affairs. When they entered into any house 
they were not to forget the accustomed civility used in the East, 




996 child’s commentator. 

and to say, as the people usually said, “ Peace be to this house ;*» 
and if they were kindly entertained, they were thankfully to 
partake of what was freely given them. Those who received them 
would be the gainers by their visit, for he gave them power to 
heal the sick, and they were to declare the glad tidings that the 
time of preaching the gospel of salvation was come, and to say 
“ the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.” 

If, however, they were not kindly received, then they were to 
leave the place, and as the Jews, when they had been abroad and 
returned from any heathen country, wiped the dust from their 
feet, lest it should pollute their land, which they considered as holy 
—so these disciples were then to wipe the dust from off their 
feet, as a sign that they separated themselves for ever from such 
sinful and hardened people. 



And now he mentioned the awful state of Chorazin and Beth- 
Baida,— cities where he had preached and performed his glorious 




child’s commentator. 997 

miracles, so that the inhabitants, if they had reflected, must have 
seen that he was the true Messiah, the Son of God, and have re- 
pented and believed his words. Instead of which they rejected 
him in spite of all the words he spoke, and the mighty deeds he 
performed, to prove that his message was divine, — and so now 
they must perish. Tyre and Sidon were very wicked cities, but 
these were more wicked ; for Tyre and Sidon had never heard nor 
seen such things as were made known to the people of Capernaum 
and Bethsaida. 

It is very awful to despise or neglect the message of Jesus 
Christ. And this may still be done. He speaks to us yet in his 
word and by his faithful servants, and while they speak his word, 
he still says in that word, “ He that heareth you hearethme; and 
he that despiseth you despiseth me : and he that despiseth me 
despiseth him that sent me.” 

Thus encouraged by their divine Lord, the disciples went forth ; 
and, having gone on their circuit, they returned and told their 
Master of their great success, and that they had even cast out j 

devils at the mention of his authority. He then told them that ? 

he saw Satan, when he was for rebellion, cast out of heaven quick I 

as lightning, and he still foresaw that his power on earth should l 

be destroyed. They should trample on venomous creatures and • 

receive no hurt, but much more should the preaching of his word 
break down the power which evil spirits might have over the 
minds of men. Yet they were not to glory in being able to per- 
form miracles, for they could do nothing without his aid and 
might ; but they ought indeed to glory, when he told them that 
their names were “ written in heaven and that as citizens were 
often enrolled, or their names written in the books of cities where 
they dwelt, so they were considered by him as the citizens of that 
happy place, as much as if such a book of their names were 
actually kept there. Then Jesus expressed the gladness of his 
heart that the great truths taught by him and his disciples, 
though rejected by the haughty doctors and the learned philo- 
sophers or wise men, were received even by babes. By babes he 
meant, not infants which are carried in the arms, for they could 
not even understand common words; but perhaps good little 



998 



child’s commentator. 

children who were ready to learn of his disciples, and also all those 
who, with as much humility and simplicity as we may suppose 
they would show, were ready to hear and receive the news of 
mercy through Jesus Christ. 

While our Lord was talking to the seventy disciples, a lawyer — 
or one of the writers and expounders of the Jewish law, came to 
him, and said, “ Master,” or Teacher, “ what shall I do to inherit 
eternal life V Our Lord asked him what he read in his own law 1 
And he said he found there, that he was to love God with all his 
heart, and his neighbour as himself. “ Do this,” said Jesus, “and 
thou shalt live.” This is the grand proof of our religion, if we 
truly love God, and endeavour to do the best sort of good to our 
neighbours. The lawyer next inquired, “ And who is my neigh- 
bour V ’ Jesus told him in the interesting parable of the Good 
Samaritan. 

I am afraid of making my work too large, and so I must refer 
| you for this and other parables I may have occasion to noticej to 
=| the places where you will find them written. This parable begins 

'J at the thirtieth verse of this tenth chapter. I must merely tell 

you that the road from Jerusalem to Jericho was, and still is, very 
dreary, and has always been a lurking place for robbers, so that it 
was called the “bloody way;” that priests and Levites often 
travelled that road, for some thousands of them lived at Jericho, 
and they had frequent occasions to go to Jerusalem; that the 
Jews and Samaritans hated each other greatly, and so the kindness 
of the good Samaritan, in relieving a poor injured Jew, while 
even his own priest and Levite cruelly passed him by, was so 
much the more to be admired; and that the twopence mentioned 
by our Lord mean Roman denarii, which were worth about 
fifteen cents each. I will end all I shall say about this 
parable by the words of our divine Lord to the lawyer ; and 
when you meet with an enemy in distress, do not be revenged 
upon him, but “ Go and do likewise.” This will be doing like 
Jesus Christ; “for,” says the apostle Paul, “while we w'ere yet 
enemies Christ died for us.” He died, indeed, before we were 
born, but he who knew all things, gave himself for us sinners, 
when he knew what we should be. Let us then learn to show 




15 














CHILD 8 COMMENTATOR. 


100 1 


kindness to the miserable, as “ the kindness and love of God our 
Saviour” has been shown to us. 

This chapter closes with an account of a visit which Jesus paid 
to Martha and Mary, two pious sisters who lived at Bethany, a 
village about two miles from Jerusalem. No sooner had he en- 
tered the house than he began to teach them heavenly things, and 
Mary was so delighted that she placed herself on the ground at his 
feet, according to the custom of learners with their teachers, and 
attentively heard his word. Martha was very hospitable, and 
immediately set to work to get some refreshment for Jesus and 
those that were with him. Being much hurried, and at last put out 
of temper, that things could not be got ready just as she wished, 
and wanting more help, she went to seek for Mary, and finding her 
sitting at the feet of Jesus, she said, pettishly, “ Lord, dost thou 
not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone 1 Bid her, 
therefore, that she help me.” But Jesus reproved Martha, for 
though she meant well, she did what was wrong. She had put 
herself out of temper, and that was wrong; and she had neglected 
a good opportunity to hear the best things from her Lord’s lips, 
and that was wrong. Jesus, therefore, said to her, “ Martha, 
Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things, but one 
thing there is needful,” the knowledge of the way to heaven, “ and 
Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away 
from her.” She is feeding her soul, which is of much more 
moment than the body, and the “ bread of life” shall serve her for 
a feast for ever. 

May, my young readers, all have grace to choose Mary’s good 
part, and like her, by faith, sit at Jesus’ feet and hear his word. 



1002 child’s commentator. 


THE ELEVENTH AND TWELFTH CHAPTERS OF ST. LUKE. 

Jesus teaches his Disciples to pray — The Parable of the Rich 
Fool — The waiting Servants 

M Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord when he cometh 
shall find watching.” — Chap. xii. 37. 


Our blessed Saviour often retired to pray ; and he taught his 
disciples to pray. Good Mr. Henry says, ‘ he is a brute and a 
monster that never prays ; that never gives glory to his Maker, 
nor feels his favour, nor owns his dependence upon him.’ Now, 
we think it very rude behaviour if a child receives even a piece of 
cake from the hand of a little play-mate and does not thank him 
for it. But shall we receive bread every day of our lives from 
the great and good God, and not thank him for it — and not only 
bread, but clothes and protection, and health, and all the good we 
have 1 ? If children’s parents kindly give them some of these 
things, it is only because God’s bounty first gave them to them, 
and so enabled them to give to their children, so these must feel 
indebted to God. Good parents, too, take care of their children ; 
yet after all their care, if God’s eye of Providence did not watch 
them every hour, they would constantly be falling into danger ; 
and the care of parents may help to keep us in health, or to 
restore us from sickness, but neither could we have health if God 
did not give it to us, nor get better when ill, if God did not give 
success to the means. Yet these are but common mercies, though 
they are of great value. God sent his Son to die for us, that we 
might trust in him as our Saviour, and that our souls might be 
happy for ever. And he grants us his grace to trust in him, for 
without it we shall not. And he gives us his holy word to tell 
us every day, what we ought to do to please him, and to be happy 
ourselves. And must we not be ungrateful indeed if we were 
never to thank him, when we receive his mercies ; and insensible 
indeed never to feel our need of them, and so to ask him to grant 



child’s commentator. 


1003 


their continuance? It is a wonder that he gives his common fa- 
vours to any who do not ask him, but his spiritual favours he 
certainly will not ; here we must ask that we may receive. No 
pardon — no holiness — no true happiness, can be had without 
prayer. And therefore our Lord taught his disciples what we call 
the Lord’s Prayer, which is repeated here, and which we have 
before seen in the sixth chapter of Matthew. In this, however, 
there are not mentioned all the things we may ask ; for we find 
many other prayers, or parts of prayer, in scripture, as David’s 
and Solomon’s, and Daniel’s, and those contained in the epistles, 
especially of the apostle Paul. 

And here he particularly reminds his disciples, that when they 
pray, they must be in earnest. And he tells them, that if any 


one of them happened to be out of bread, and a friend should 


come to see him late in the evening, and he should be obliged to 
borrow some, as the Jews used to do of each other, it might hap- 
pen that the house would be shut up, at which he might knock. 
But then, what will he do, will he go away ? No, he will knock 



and knock again. By and by he is perhaps told by his friend 


that he is in bed, and his children are fast asleep, and that if he 
should get up to lend the bread, it would disturb all the family. 
But he takes no denial and continues knocking, till at last wea- 
ried out with the noise, he gets up and gives, not so much be- 
cause his friend has asked, as because he would give him no rest 
till he got what he wanted. 

By this our blessed Lord would teach his disciples, and us also, 
that we must not pray in a hurry, but keep on knocking at the 
door of mercy, and earnestly ask, as if we wanted indeed to have; 
and if the man’s friend was obliged to give him bread on account 
of his pressing him so much, then much more would our gracious 
Father in heaven give good things to them that ask him. 

In the twelfth chapter Luke relates the 'parable of the Rich Fool , 
as we call it. I should like you to read it, from the sixteenth 
to the twenty -first verses. Our Lord describes in it a rich man, 
who had large barns, full of what his lands had produced, and so 
much stock that he did not know where to put it. So he resolved 
to build new barns in the room of the old ones, and to make them 



1004 



child’s commentator. 

larger. And then he thought, “ How happy I shall be ! I have 
many years yet to live, and my soul and body may be both at 
ease : so I will eat, drink, and be merry.” But he never thought 
of thanking God for his wealth, or laying any of it out for his 
glory. So just as he fancied he had got all things to his mind, 
God sent death to him, and spake to his conscience by his Provi- 
dence, “ Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee !” 
Dear young reader, there are many such fools in the world, and 
they are the worst kind of fools, for they reckon on long life, 
when life at the best is short ; they take care of their bodies, but 
forget their souls ; they become rich for this world, but lay up no 
treasure in heaven. Let us remember the rich fool. 

In the thirty-fifth verse, our Lord says, “ Let your loins be 
girded about, and your lamps burning ; and ye yourselves like 
unto men that wait for your Lord, when he will return from the 
wedding.” Among the Jews weddings took place at night. The 
servants, therefore, would have to sit up for their masters, and 
i S must keep their lamps trimmed ready to light them. If the 

\J lamps went out, it would be a sign of negligence, or, that instead 

I of watching, they were asleep. The garments being long, like a 
morning gown, it was also usual to tuck them up and gird them 
close round the waist, if any thing needed to be quickly done. 
By mentioning these customs, our Lord would show the disciples 
and us, that as his servants, we should always be ready to meet 
him at his coming. Death, at his command, will take away all 
that we have ; but as one would watch a thief, expected to come 
at midnight, so ought we to be upon our watch, and then, when 
called to die, we shall not be taken by surprise. The faithful 
steward, who uses his time and talents for the divine glory, shall 
be richly rewarded ; but he who presumes on his Lord’s delaying, 
and does wicked things, must suffer the most dreadful conse- 
quences. As the faithless and disobedient servant was, by the 
Jewish people, scourged with stripes, so shall all such receive the 
sorest punishment, and that punishment shall be the greater for 
those who have been taught good things, and choose to do those 
that are bad. 







child’s commentator. 


1007 


THE THIRTEENTH OP 8T. LUKE TO THE END. 

The Parable of the barren Fig-tree — Of the highest Seat — Of the 
lost Piece of Money — Of the Prodigal Son. 

“ He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” — Chap. xiv. 35. 


My limits now oblige me unavoidably to pass over many things 
in this gospel, which 1 should be glad to explain to you ; but there 
are many parables given by this evangelist, which w r e do not find 
in the others, and as I wish particularly to explain them, I must 
beg you to place your testament before you, and refer to and read 
them, before you read my short remarks, which I hope, by God’s 
blessing, will be some help to you in the right understanding of 
them. 

The first is the Barren Fig-tree , in the thirteenth chapter, from 
the sixth to the ninth verse. 

Explanation. — The tree referred to by our Lord was a sort of 
white fig, which, if it did not bear fruit in three years, rarely bore 
any at all. This tree represented the unbelieving Jews, whom 
God had favoured with great privileges ; and sent his prophets 
and his Son among them, to call them to repentance ; but still 
they had not glorified him. Still he had been patient with them, 
and had not punished them as they deserved, but all in vain. His 
kind care over them must therefore soon cease, and they be ruined 
like a tree cut down. 

I hope, my young reader, that you are not like this barren fig- 
tree, which, with all the care bestowed upon it, never rewarded the 
labourer’s toil. God has been very patient with you too; he has 
not destroyed you, when you have been very wicked and unprofit- 
able ; but if you do not bear fruit to his glory, you cannot tell 
how much longer he may spare you. He may, and does indeed, 
often take away the good at an early period, but then they are 
only like the pleasant tree, transplanted from the garden of Zion 
below, to the Zion or Paradise above. “The ungodly are not 
so,” but are like fuel prepared for the fire. 





1008 


child’s commentator. 


In the fourteenth chapter, from the seventh to the eleventh 
verse, we have the parable of the Highest Seat. 

Explanation. — We have some ceremonies among us about 

taking a seat, but in the 
East the ceremonies are 
much greater. The Per- 
sians in particular, when in- 
vited to a feast, will wedge 
themselves in at the table 
just at the place where they 
suppose their rank entitles 
them to sit. The master of 
the feast may, however, raise 
any one as high up the table 
as he pleases. The Greeks 
have the same custom at their 
wedding feasts, and if any 
take a place higher than they 
ought, they are very likely to get put down lower. 

Our Lord here teaches us, “ that pride will have shame, and 
will at last have a fall.” 

The parable of the great supper, which follows, has been ex- 
plained in the twenty-second of Matthew. 

In the fifteenth chapter we read the parable of the Lost Sheep ; 
it is explained at the end of the eighteenth chapter of Matthew. 

From the eighth to the tenth verse you find the parable of the 
Lost Piece of Money. I cannot better explain it than in the words 
of Mr. Henry. “ A soul plunged in the world, and overwhelmed 
in the love of it, and care about it, is like a piece of money in the 
dirt; any one would say it is a thousand pities it should lie 
there. God, by the methods of his grace, is seeking after lost 
souls, and so in his mercy he brings them to himself. Has yours 
yet been found, or will it lie and perish like precious coin in the 
dirt] Say, “ Lord, save me, or I perish !” I have done so, and 
so must you, or you can never hope to be saved. 

The Prodigal Son is a most delightful parable, from the eleventh 
verse to the end of this chapter. It is quite affecting to read it. 




child’s commentator. 


100 £ 


Explanation.— This parable represents to us the Jews under 
the character of the eldest son ; they having long been treated as 
God’s children, while the Gentiles were not so; and how they felt 
themselves mortified when our blessed Lord gave them to under- 
stand that the Gentiles should be also blessed in the Christ, the 
true Messiah. It shows us also how the sinner, choosing his own 
ways, goes afar from God, our common Father, and so from real 
happiness. And it points out the folly of those young persons 
who will break through every restraint, and have their own way, 
which most frequently brings on misery, and often ruin. It like- 
wise teaches us at the greatest extreme of misery and wretched- 
ness not to despair, but to go to a merciful God, who will look upon 
our tears, will hear our supplications, and will yet receive us gra- 
ciously in his tender mercies, through Jesus Christ our Saviour. 

The sixteenth chapter begins with the Unjust Steward, and it is 
contained in the first eight verses. You will see that a steward, 
who had wasted his lord’s goods, being called to an account, con- 
trived to secure to himself a number of friends from among his 
lord’s debtors, by setting down their accounts at much less than 
they owed, that so, when his master should turn him away, he 
might, by cheating him, have made them his friends. 

Explanation . — “This world,” says one, “is a house ; heaven 
the roof ; the stars the lights ; the earth with its fruits, a table 
spread ; the Master of the house is the holy and blessed God ; 
man is the steward, into whose hands the goods of this house are 
delivered ; if he behave himself well, he shall find favour in the 
eyes of his Lord ; if not, he shall be turned out of his steward- 
ship.” We see in this parable that one step of sin leads on towards 
another, and that he who begins to cheat will soon easily go on 
cheating. Roguery is, however, sooner or later discovered, and 
then it ends in the disgrace of the offender. Yet bad as it is to 
act unjustly towards man, it is worse when we consider that we 
cannot do wickedly towards others without breaking God’s law. 
Such a steward must break the sacred command, “ Thou shait not 
steal and God marks those who wickedly break his righteous 
laws. Alas, dear young reader! though we may not have com- 
mitted quite as barefaced a sin as this steward, yet we have too 



1010 


child’s commentator. 


often wasted our precious time, neglected God’s ordinances, or 
carelessly performed our duty. So that we must own ourselves 
unprofitable servants. Let us try no bad means of quieting our 
minds, but rather humbly confess our faults, and ask a forgiving 
Lord for pardon through his dear Son. 

In the nineteenth and following verses we have the parable of 
the Rich Man and Lazarus. 

Explanation. — The expression, “ Abraham’s bosom,” used here, 
was used by the Jews to express paradise. We must remember 
that this is only a parable, as the happy in paradise, and the 
wicked in hell, are too far apart ever to talk with each other. 
But it is meant, as Mr. Henry says, to teach us “that poor, godly 
people, whom men neglect and trample upon, die away out of 
their miseries, and go to heavenly bliss and joy, which is made 
more pleasant to them by their preceding sorrows ; and that rich 
epicures, that live in luxury, and are unmerciful to the poor, die 
and go into a state of insupportable torment, which is the more 
grievous and terrible to them, because of the sensual lives they 
lived, and that there is no gaining any relief for their torments. 

In the seventeenth chapter is a short parable, which we call 
the Servant in the Field. It is to teach us that when we serve 
God ever so diligently, we have only done our duty, and have 
merited nothing from his hands. 

In the eleventh and following verses, we read of ten lepers 
which Christ cured, but out of the ten only one gave him glory 
for what he had done. Was not this ungrateful ? But ask your- 
self, how many mercies have I received and have forgotten to 
praise God for them 1 “ In every thing give thanks,” and bless 

the kind Giver. 

The eighteenth chapter begins with the parable of the Unjust 
Judge , which, as the introduction of it tells us, is to teach us 
“that men ought always to pray and not to faint,” for, if the un- 
just judge could be wearied to do what the poor widow needed, 
surely God will not suffer those who love him to plead with him 
in vain. 

The last parable that requires our notice in this book is that 
of the Pharisee and Publican. It is included in the tenth and 


child's commentator. 


1011 


following verses. The Pharisee represents those who think there 
is merit in their performing their religious duties, and who hope 
to be saved by them ; while the publican represents the humble- 
hearted sinner, who feels no pride in praying, but only feels his 
need of God’s mercy. You see that God would not hear such 
proud prayers as the Pharisee’s, for, though there was no harm 
in thanking God he was better than others, if he had thanked 
God that his grace made him to differ — yet when he prided 
himself in what he did, and told God of it, as though he 
deserved God’s praise, God, who knows how imperfect are our 
best deeds, would not look upon him with approbation ; “ foi 
God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble.” You 
see also, that the most simple prayer, if humbly offered in faith, 
is kindly regarded by our gracious God — even “ God be merciful 
to me a sinner.” But it is not merely our lips saying so that is 
prayer, we must say so from the heart. If we feel that we are 
sinners, we shall feel our need of a Saviour, and look for mercy 
only through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

We close this Gospel with the account given of Zaccheus the 
publican, or tax-gatherer, who was very rich: and as Jesus was 
passing through Jericho, he wished much to see him. But he was 
a very short man, and could not see among the crowd, so he got 
up into a sycamore, or kind of fig-tree. Jesus looked up, and told 
him, by name, to come down, for he meant to go with him to his 
house. Zaccheus was delighted at this, but many were mortified, 
and, no doubt, many of the Pharisees, for they said that Jesus 
was gone to be a guest with a sinner. Yes, Jesus Christ “ came 
into the world to save sinners.” And now the heart of Zaccheus 
was touched by his grace. He had been an oppressive and unjust 
tax-gatherer, and had wronged those of whom he had collected, to 
enrich himself. But he was not ashamed to confess his sins, and 
to make recompense to those whom he had injured, and so tc 
repent. Jesus saw that he was sincere. He knew, too, that his 
heart was ready to receive him as his Saviour. Zaccheus becom- 
ing blessed, would now be a blessing to others. “ This day,” said 
Jesus, “ is salvation come to this house, forasmuch as he also is 
the son of Abraham.” Publicans, though Jews, were reckoned by 




1012 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


A h ^ m i bufc aS ,« eat ?? ns ; bu t now Zaccheus is blessed with faithful 
Abraham ; like him he would command his children and his 
household to walk m the ways of holy obedience. The salvation 

Zl S o SpeC1 . men ° f Christ ’ s desi > in coming into the 
wodd, for the Son of man is come to seek and to save that 
which was lost. 



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THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. JOHN. 


THE FIRST CHAPTER OF ST. JOHN. 

Account of John the Evangelist — Christ the Word of God — John 
the Baptist's Testimony to Christ — Christ the Lamb of God — 
Nathaniel' s Character , and Conjectures about him. 

“ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, 
and the Word was God.” 

“ The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, 
Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the 
world.” — Vers. 1, 19. 


The Evangelist John was distinguished as “ that disciple whom 
Jesus loved.” Jesus loved all his disciples, but John was particu- 
larly honoured by him, sat near him, and leaned upon his bosom. 
When Jesus shone in such glory on the “ high mountain,” John 


child’s commentator. 


1016 

was one of the three disciples that saw him. He was, likewise, 
one of the three that saw his agony in the garden. To him also 
was committed the care of Mary, the mother of Jesus, when he 
died on the cross. History informs us that he lived till he was 
very old, and while the other disciples were martyred, he was suf- 
fered to die a natural death. 

As we find things in Mark and Luke which are not in Matthew 
— so we find things in John which are not in either of the other 
Evangelists. 

John doesjiot repeat the account of the birth of Jesus Christ, for 
that had been sufficiently done by the other three Evangelists ; those 
who followed the first having told us about matters omitted by 
him, that nothing important might be wanting. And throughout 
this Evangelist, the history of what Jesus did, is not so much 
related as what he said. 

In the other Evangelists, we are told about the things which 
Jesus performed, from which we must conclude that he was more 
than a mere man, for no man could do the miracles which he did ; 
and there are also expressions used at different times which point 
out that he was a divine person. But John treats more largely 
on this point, and begins his Gospel by declaring that Jesus Christ 
is God. 

Christ is here called “the Word.” I will tell you why: be- 
cause he it is that speaks all divine things to us; we only know 
the word of God through him. 

He who is called “the Word,” is also called God; “and the 
Word,” says John, “ was God.” 

He was “in the beginning ;” in the beginning of time, and there- 
fore he was from eternity, before time began. The world was not 
“ in the beginning,” as eternity is called, but was from the begin- 
ning. The world cannot have existed as this divine Word has 
existed, because — as is elsewhere said of him — “ he was before 
all things, and by him all things consist.” He must have been 
before the world, because he made the world ; for John adds, 
“All things were made by him ; and without him was not any 
thing made that was made.” Now, we have seen in Genesis, that 
“ in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth ;” so 


child’s commentator, 


1017 


that it is clear, he who is here called “ The Word,” is the same 
that is there called God. 

John further says, “ In him was life;” all living beings derive 
their life from him, and nobody can give life but God. Men car 
make a fine statue, but all the men in the world cannot give it life ; 
God alone must do this. But in this divine “ Word was life.” 

“And the Life was the Light of men.” The world must have 
been in gross darkness without him. We could have known 
nothing about God and the way to heaven, but through Jesus 
Christ. Where he is not known, even the wisest men did and 
still do worship carved figures of different materials, believing 
them to be God. Whole ship loads of thesegodshave been made 
in England, and shipped off for one of those nations who use them. 
If you had gone into the manufactory where they were made, you 
would have laughed at them as gods; and then if you had thought 
a little more seriously, you would have pitied the ignorance of the 
poor creatures who could suppose them to be such ; — but if Jesus 
Christ had never been known to us in his word, and never given 
us better light, we should have been — as indeed our nation once was 
— as dark as these poor heathen just alluded to ; and, like them, 
“ without God in the world.” 

This “ light shined in darkness, but the darkness comprehended 
it not.” “The world by wisdom knew not God.” When Jesus 
Christ appeared, the world could not see his glory ; they were even 
so blind, that the miracles which proved him to be no mere man, 
could not convince them. 

“ There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The 
same came for a witness, to bear witness of the light — that all men 
through him might believe. He” — John — “was not that light, 
but was sent to bear witness of that light. That was the true 
light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” The 
heathen have the light of reason, and he gave it to them, and we 
have the light of revelation, or of the gospel revealed — or made 
known to us — by his Holy Spirit. 

“ And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us : and we 
beheld his glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father, 
full of grace and truth.” 




1018 


child’s commentator. 


Now think a little on what John has here said. Though his 
language being about uncommon matters, is expressed in a way 
not directly to be understood, on account of our being so used 
chiefly to common concerns ; yet, by a little thought it becomes 
very clear. 

The Word, which spoke the mind of God, and was God ; which 
made all things, and is the life and light of all men ; was borne 
witness to by John the Baptist, who came preaching a few months 
before Jesus openly showed himself in his ministry ; and that 
“Word” was the Lord Jesus Christ himself, who “was made 
flesh,” when he took our nature, and was born in Bethlehem ; who 
“ dwelt” some time in the world ; whose “ glory” the apostles saw 
—in the deeds he did, in the heavenly truths which he taught, in 
his transfiguration on the mount, and in his ascension to glory — 
of which we shall hereafter read. 



John attracted much attention, by his bold and singular way of 
preaching ; and the Jews made inquiries of him if he was the 
Christ — the Messiah foretold by the prophets. John replied that 
he was not, that he was only like the forerunner of a prince, in 
his processions or travels, going before him and saying, “ Make 
straight the way of the Lord remove every impediment out of 
the way to receive him ; or, as kings’ servants say, “ Make 
rDom.” Men must turn out their sins, by repenting of them, and 


so make room in their 
hearts for J esus Christ. 
He, who was the Christ, 
was speedily coming 
to preach his gospel, 
and he was far greater 
than he ; so much so, 
that he was not worthy 
of being honoured as 
his servant, to un- 
loose even the straps 



of his sandals — or shoes without the upper leathers, as 
worn in the East. 

The very next day Jesus made his appearance, and John 




pointed to him and said, “ Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh 
away the sin of the world ! This is he of whom I said, After me 
cometh a man which is preferred before me : for he was before me.” 
But why did John call Jesus, “The Lamb of God?” Because he 
came into the world to die for sinners. Every morning and even- 
ing the J ews offered up a Lamb in sacrifice ; which sacrifice in the 
morning took away the guilt of the night ; while that of the night 
took away the guilt of the morning. So God appointed, and so 
the Jews sacrificed. But Jesus Christ was now to be the Lamb 
slain. What those lambs did only in type, or as a sign, he came 
to do in reality, for all, who by faith behold him as “ the Lamb 
of God” — the only Lamb that can take away sin— or, in other 
words, the only sacrifice that can be truly effectual, and on whose 
account alone all the old sacrifices were of any use. The Jews 
would in vain have offered their lambs in sacrifice, if Jesus 
Christ had not died ; and the truly pious Jews believed this, and 
looked to something more that was to take place when the Mes- 
siah should finish his work. 

John, moreover, declared that he knew nothing of Christ any 
more than other people — there was no scheme between them, that 
he should make out Christ to be the Messiah, for he declared him 
to be such, because he had seen the Holy Spirit rest upon him in 
some extraordinary appearance, resembling a meek and innocent 
dove, yet, at the same time, ail glorious and divine. On this 
account he “ bare record,” or declared of Christ that he was “ the 
Son of God.” 

John’s disciples, on hearing this testimony, wisely left John, as 
John wished, and followed after Jesus, and were soon joined by 
other disciples, which Jesus added to them, to be witnesses of 
what he said and did. 

After this Jesus soon gave his disciples a proof that they had 
not been mistaken in following him as the true Messiah. Natha 
nael was invited by Philip to come to Christ, and to follow him ; 
for, said he, “ We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and 
the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And 
Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of 
Nazareth ?” Perhaps he thought that the people of Nazareth were 




1020 child’s commentator. 

a bad sort of people, and so he would not believe that even one 
worth any thing could spring from them : but this was wrong ; 
we should never condemn many for the faults of a few ; nor sup- 
pose, how wicked soever a place may be, that the grace of God 
may not make it better. Or, perhaps he meant, that the Messiah 
could not certainly come out of Nazareth, since the prophets had 
said otherwise ; and he was not then told that, though brought 
up at Nazareth, he was born at Bethlehem, the very spot pointed 
out in prophecy for the birth of the Messiah. 

However, Nathanael went to Jesus, and when Jesus saw him 
approaching, he said, “Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom there 
is no guile 1” This was a proof that he was more than a mere 
man, or how should he have known any thing about Nathanael, 
whom he had never before seen ? Or, if he had even seen him, 
how should he know all about his character ? It often takes the 
wisest men a very long time to find out the character of people. 
And a very honourable character he gives of Nathanael. Dear 
young reader, does it belong to you and me? “ Behold an Israel- , 
ite indeed, in whom there is no guile.” By this he meant, that 
Nathanael did not merely pretend to serve God as an Israelite, 
but that he served him from his heart. There was no guile or 
deceit about him, but he was truly sincere. 

Nathanael would have been ashamed of this praise, had he not 
known that he was what our Lord described him to be ; and how 
much pleasure must he have felt in such a testimony of a good 
conscience. If any one were to say to you, that you have no 
guile about you — that you are quite sincere in every thing — 
would it be correct? You can best answer. 

The good man was, however, surprised at our Lord’s know- 
ledge, and asked, “Whence knowest thou me?” Jesus said, 

“ When thou wast under the fig-tree I saw thee.” This was pro- 
bably some spot where Nathanael retired to meditate and to 
pray, and where he was so shut out from the world that he knew 
no eye could possibly see him but the eye of God. 

Nathanael needed no further proof that Christ was the Messiah, 
and so he directly cried out, “ Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, 
thou art the king of Israel.” That is, “ My Master, thou art a 



child’s commentator. 1021 

divine person, thou art the Messiah prophesied of to rule over 
Israel.” 

Many suppose Nathanael to have been the same disciple which 
is called Bartholomew; because Bartholomew being called to be a 
disciple is never mentioned, and so they think that Nathanael 
must have been the proper name of Bartholomew, for Bartholo- 
mew is not a proper name, but signifies the Son of Ptolemy. The 
Evangelists who speak of Bartholomew never mention Nathanael ; 
and John, who mentions Nathanael, never mentions Bartholomew; 
so that it is thought the one name is mentioned for the other ; 
and, lastly, John seems to rank Nathanael among the apostles, 
when he says, that Peter, Thomas, the two sons of Zebedee, 
Nathanael, and two other disciples, being going a fishing, Jesus 
showed himself to them. See the twenty -first chapter and the 
second verse. 


THE SECOND CHAPTER OF ST. JOHN. 

Marriage at Cana , in Galilee. 

‘This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and 
manifested forth his glory ; and his disciples believed on him.” 
— Ver. 11. 


We have here an account of the first of Christ’s public mira- 
cles, which he performed at a marriage feast at Cana in Galilee, 
to which he and his disciples were invited, and his mother Mary 
was also there. 

There being more guests than were probably at first expected, 
the wine was soon drunk out. Mary mentioned the circumstance 
to Jesus. Some think that Mary, having seen him perform some 
miracles in private, she now expected to see him perform another 
by supplying the wine. And they suppose this, because Mary 
could have no other reason for mentioning it to him than that he 
should take notice of it, and because he checked her for intimating 
it to him, probably to induce him to work a miracle. “ Jesus 


1022 


child’s commentator. 


saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour” — 
that is, my time for working any miracle here — “ is not yet come.” 
I wish you just to observe, by the way, that this language seems 
rather rude, and for us to say to any one, but especially to a 
mother, “ Woman,” would show a very great want of respect ; but 
it was a manner of speaking which in that society implied no 
rudeness, for even princes addressed ladies of rank in the same 
way, and servants employed the same word to speak to their mis- 
tresses; just as gentlemen address a lady among us as Madam, 
or a servant by the same word shortened into Ma’am. 

His mother left him to perform his own pleasure, and told the 
servants just to mind what heshould say, if he gave them any orders. 

Now there were six stone water-pots there, which had been 
used for water for various purposes, especially for purifying or 
washing the hands and feet, and the cups and platters. These 
water-pots, or jars, learned men have reckoned, from the size of 
the measures used at that time, to have held about fifty-four gal- 
lons. “Jesus saith unto them, Fill the water-pots with water. 
And they filled them up to the brim. And he saith unto them, 
Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they 
bare it.” When the governor had tasted the wine, he was 
delighted with it, but did not know from whence it came; so he 
said to the bridegroom, “ Every man at the beginning doth set 
forth good wine, and when men have well drunk, then that which 
is worse’’— because the taste is not then so delicate ; “ but thou 
hast kept the good wine until now.” 

There is a story related of Dry den, the poet, that when he was 
a boy at school, he showed a very fine genius; and, having one 
day neglected his task, or committed some other fault, his master 
told him he should escape punishment, if he could manage to 
relate the miracle at Cana in Galilee in one line ; and that he 
immediately replied — 

“ The modest water saw its God and blushed.” 

I have seen the same thought expressed in four lines by Aaron 
Hill, another writer of the last century, but I give you the one 
line, which is very beautiful, and worth your remembering. 



mmk 












IHRIST AND THE WOMxiN OP SAMARIA. 





child’6 commentator. 1025 


THE THIRD CHAPTER OF ST. JOHN. 

Christ's Conversation with Nicodemus. 


Ye must be born again.” — Ver. 7. 




In this chapter we have an interesting conversation which our 
Lord held with Nicodemus, one of the sect of the Pharisees, and 
“a ruler of the Jews;” that is, a member of the great Sanhe- 
drim — a sort of legislature, consisting of seventy -one or seventy- 
two members, and consequently he was one of considerable authority 
in Jerusalem; though this legislature was perhaps now some- 
what altered in its character, and allowed only to meddle with 
matters about the Jewish church, the government being under the 
Romans. 

Nicodemus being afraid of incurring the displeasure of the 
Jews, by going to see Jesus, went to him “ by night.” He respect- 
fully addressed him by the name which the Jewish Doctors bore, 
and called him “Rabbi,” by way of distinction. He told him he 
believed him to be “ a teacher sent from God,” and that he had 
given proof of it, by the miracles which he had wrought, and 
which no common person could do. 

Jesus replied, that this was not enough to save him, but he must 
be “ born again ;” that is, born anew ; in other words, he must 
undergo as great a change in his heart, as if his old life had been 
all past away, and he came anew into the world. He must be 
quite a different creature from what he had been. He was born 
in sin, but he must be born of the Holy Spirit, or he could never 
enter heaven. 

Nicodemus could not understand him ; but Christ told him 
not to “ marvel,” or wonder, at what he said ; for as the wind blew 
which way it would, never seen by our eyes, yet felt in its power 
upon our bodies, so the Divine Spirit works unseen, yet power- 
fully felt on the heart of the sinner, before he can be saved. So, 
that as by nature he cannot love God, now by grace he loves him ; 




1026 child’s commentator. 


as by nature he practises sin, so by grace he practises holiness; as 
by nature he delights in folly, so by grace he delights in that 
which is good. This change of the mind is great as a new birth, 
for none can understand it, but those who have felt it ; and those 
who have felt it, know that they are “ born again,” are “ new 
creatures in Christ Jesus.” 

Hence we find persons of rank, and learning, and sense — per- 
sons who are wise in every other respect — often have no idea of 
what is meant by being “ born again.” At most, they think it 
may signify a change from the Jewish to the Christian religion; 
and so they see no need of any change being wrought upon 
them, since they have, as they suppose, been born Christians. 
Some even suppose that being baptized is being born again ; but, 
my dear young readers, use your own common sense upon the 
matter. Think what could be our Lord’s meaning. Had he 

I meant nothing more than a change of his religion, Nicodemus 
would not have been so foolish as to ask, “ How can these things 
i be because there was nothing puzzling in such a change as that ; . 

'‘■y it had taken place in many, who had left the Jews, and become 

disciples of Christ. No, he meant a very great change indeed. A \ 

man may change his religion, and yet his heart remain unchanged ; 
so it was with Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus. Many called ' 
Christians are very bad men, and women, and children, too, though 
they have been baptized. Do you think that such are fit for 
heaven 1 — that hypocrites, and swearers, and liars, and unclean 
persons, and sabbath-breakers, and persons of the like descrip- 
tion, are fit to join the holy in heaven ? Think ! what then could 
our blessed Teacher mean when he said, “Ye must be born 
again V* 

Are you born again ? Our blessed Saviour says very solemnly 
to Nicodemus — and what he says to him must apply to us all — 

“ Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water 
and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God ;” 
that is, Except the Spirit of God purify our nature, as if it were 
washed clean by water, we cannot enter under the dominion of the 
blessed God, which must begin here, and continues for ever in 
the bright world above. 




child's commentator. 1027 

In this discourse Jesus teaches Nicodemus many other import 
ant things. To be born again, implies to have spiritual life ; novs 
as the body cannot see natural things, till it be born, so neither 
can the soul see spiritual things, till it be “ born of the Spirit. 
So then that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that w hich is 
born of the Spirit is spirit.” A natural man sees nothing beyond 
natural things, and these he may know in the highest degree ; but 
it is only the spiritual man that can understand spiritual things. 
Some of these Christ points out to Nicodemus. If he is born 
again, he must, as an act of spiritual life, believe in Jesus; in 
other words, see, and seeing, trust in him as a Saviour. For, as 
when the children of Israel were bitten by the fiery serpents in 
the wilderness, and Moses, by the Divine command, made a ser- 
pent of brass and set it upon a pole, that the eyes of the poor 
I sufferers looking towards it, in obedience to God’s command, 
might live ; so is Jesus exhibited to poor sinners, wounded by 
[ sin, with bites far w r orse than those of the fiery serpents — that, 

i looking earnestly to him with the mind, and trusting in him for 

i the curing of their souls, by the removal of their defilement and 

1/ guilt, through the virtues of his precious blood, shed for sinners, 

they may not die, but live for ever. This is the meaning of the 
| words, “ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, 

even so must the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever be- 
lieveth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” 

Our Lord then goes on to say, that those who do not believe 
in him can have no pardon, but are in a state of condemnation. 
As they have no Saviour to trust in, no one to stand in their 
stead, or plead their cause, they must in that condition perish. 
Christ has come into the world, to shine upon it in its miserable 
and ignorant state, just as the sun breaking through the clouds 
brightens up the day, or rising in the morning dispels the night ; 
but men love darkness, — they are so mad and thoughtless, that 
they prefer remaining in their spiritual ignorance and misery, 
rather than to come by faith to Jesus, and to commit their souls 
into his care, to be both ruled and comforted by his gospel. The 
reason of this is, that “ their deeds are evil,”— they love to prac- 
tice their sins better than to go to Christ, for they are quite aware 



1028 


child’s commentator. 


that they cannot give themselves up to Christ, and give them- 
selves up to sin at the same time ; and so they rashly cleave to 
their sin, and depart from Jesus. How many are there in the 
world so infatuated ! Do you, dear young reader, love sin and 
the world, rather than Christ?— then you “love darkness rather 
than light,” and “ your deeds are evil.” 


THE FOURTH CHAPTER OF ST. JOHN. 

The Woman of Samaria — The Nobleman's Son cured. 
“This is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.” — Verse 2. 

t — 

1! There is a very pleasing little narrative in this chapter, about 
A a woman of Samaria. She lived at a city called Sychar : Jacob 
Jl formerly had purchased a piece of ground here, and gave it to his 
I beloved son Joseph ; and here was a well, which still bore the 
i name of Jacob’s well. 

1 Jesus having occasion to pass that way on a journey, being 

hungry, thirsty, and fatigued, sat down by this well. Just at the 
moment the woman of Samaria went to it to draw water, and 
Jesus asked her to give him some to drink. The woman wondered 
at such a request from Jesus, he being a Jew, and the Jews and 
Samaritans having a very bitter dislike to each other ; tor the 
Samaritans had in various ways endeavoured to injure the Jews. 
Jesus then said to her, “ If thou knewest the gift of God” — that 
is, that God has given his own Son to save lost men of every 
nation — “ and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink, thou 
wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living 
water;” by this he meant the Holy Spirit’s influences, which, be- 
cause they are refreshing to the thirsty soul of man, in search of 
peace and happiness, are often compared to water. 

The woman did not understand him, and asked him how he 
could draw water elsewhere, having neither well nor pitcher at 




child’s commentator. 1029 

hand ; and if he thought himself wiser than Jacob, who had drunk 
the water of that well, and left it as a valuable gift to his family. 

Jesus told her, that those who partook of that water would 
grow thirsty again, but that which he could bestow would afford 
full and everlasting satisfaction. 

Still the woman could not comprehend his meaning, and either 
supposing he might know of some extraordinary water, or might 
be boasting of what he could not give, she proposed putting him 
to the test, and said, “ Sir, give me of this water that I thirst not, 
neither come hither to draw.” 

Jesus then began a conversation which convinced her that ho 
was no common man, and told her all about her private concerns. 

She then said, “ Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet and 
not liking to talk about some things which she had wrongly done, 

, she asked him to inform her, which place of worship was most 

f pleasing to God, that in which the Samaritans worshipped on 

Mount Gerizim,or that in which the Jews worshipped at Jerusalem. 

Jesus told her, that the time was now coming when no one 
/ place in particular should be more holy than another, but every 
spot would be the same in the sight of God, in which the wor- 
i shippers were sincere ; for “ God is a spirit, and they that wor- 
ship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” 

The woman further answered him, that she believed what he 
said was right ; but the Messiah was expected soon to come, and 
then he would clear up all difficuties about the matter. 

Imagine how surprised the woman must have been, when Jesus 
said, “ I that speak unto thee am he.” The disciples, however, 
who were gone away to buy food, now returned, and so the con- 
versation ended. 

Seeing Jesus talking with a Samaritan woman, the disciples 
were quite amazed ; but they would not take the liberty of ask- 
ing Jesus why he did so. 

In the mean time the woman leaving her water-pot, hastened 
to the city, and told all her acquaintance there that she had seen 
the Messiah ; for a person she had talked with had told her the 
most wonderful things ; and they must come along with her, and 
see and hear him too. 




1030 child’s commentator. 


While this was taking place the disciples begged of Jesus to eat 
of the food they had brought ; but he said, “ 1 have meat to eat 
that ye know not of j” and his mind was so intent on his work of 
doing good, which he called his meat, that he cared not about eat- 
ing. The disciples, however, were often dull of understanding, and 
so they were now, for they thought that he had got some other 
meat, and wondered how he could have procured it. Jesus then 
explained to them his meaning : “My meat is to do the will of 
him that sent me, and to finish his work.” It wanted then four 
months of harvest-time, but he nevertheless had a great harvest 
to gather in — not of barley, but of souls. It was not a time then 
to eat and to drink, but to work ; for the Samaritans were ready 
to receive him and to believe on him, and these were his precious 
fields, which were white and ready for harvest. And so it came to 
pass, for “ many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him.” 

Having been prevailed upon to stop at Sychar two days, he 
then proceeded on his journey into Galilee ; and going again to 
Cana, “ where he made the water wine,” he performed another 
miracle by curing the sick son of a nobleman of Herod’s court. 
This nobleman, hearing that Jesus was there, took a journey from 
Capernaum to see him, and to implore him to cure his son. Jesus 
knew how unbelieving the people of Capernaum were, and per- 
haps that he had been so among others, so he reproved him, and 
did not say he would cure his son, but told him, “ Except ye' see 
signs and wonders, ye will not believe.” The nobleman, however, 
urged him to return with him and save his child. The kind heart 
of Jesus could not resist the yearnings of the fond parent over 
his beloved son, and he said, “ Go thy way, thy son liveth.” The 
nobleman relied on his word, and hastened home. But before he 
got home some of the servants were sent on the road to meet 
him, and to tell him the joyful news, that his son was recovered ; 
and on his inquiring at what time it took place, he found it was 
exactly at the time which Jesus had said. 

Owing to this remarkable miracle, the second which Jesus per- 
formed at Cana, not only did the nobleman believe, but all his 
family were convinced that Jesus was the true Messiah ; that is, 
“ The Christ, the Saviour of the world.” 




child’s commentator. 1031 


THE FIFTH CHAPTER OF ST. JOHN. 

Christ cures the disabled Man at the Pool of Bethesda. 

“ The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus that had 
made him whole.” — Ver. 15. 


We here still find Jesus doing good. What a pleasure must 
his generous heart have felt in thus relieving the miserable ; and 
though we cannot cure the sick and the lame, yet if we are kind 
and compassionate towards them, we shall in a degree partake of 
something of the pleasure which our divine Lord felt. 

We now behold Jesus going, according to custom, and in obe- 
i dience to the law, to the feast of the passover at Jerusalem, 
on which occasion a vast number of persons being assembled, he 
| had the greater opportunity of doing good. 

dt There was at Jerusalem a pool, which, on account of some 
medical properties in its waters, was a sort of bath, to which per- 
sons with complaints of various kinds went, in order to obtain a 
cure, and many had been cured by bathing in it. It seems, how- 
ever, that it was necessary they should go in just at a certain 
time, when the waters were agitated by an extraordinary cause. 

Jesus arriving at the pool, saw a poor man there who had been 
disabled during no less than thirty-eight years, and having no 
money to pay any one to wait upon him and put him into the 
water whenever it began to stir, some other person always hur- 
ried into the pool before him just at the proper moment, and ob- 
tained cure instead of himself. 

Jesus talked to him about his complaint, and learning his hard 
lot, asked him if he would like then to be cured ; and then he 
commanded him to take up his bed and walk. We have noticed 
a similar cure in the ninth chapter of St. Matthew, and there 
told you, that the bed used was a sort of mattrass, or we may 
add, if you have ever seen a sailor’s hammock, it was something 
of that kind, so that a man in health could carry it without any 
great inconvenience. 


I 




1032 


child’s commentator. 


It was enough for Jesus to speak and the cure was at once ef 
fected, so the man took up his bed and went away. 

This happened on the Sabbath-day. Now the Jews were very 
strict observers of the Sabbath, and so far they were right ; and 
they would not allow any one to carry a burden on that day. So 
seeing this man carrying his bed, they told him that he was 
breaking the Sabbath. The man then excused himself for what 
he was doing, and intimated as much as that he could not in that 
instance be doing wrong, for he who had power to cure him had 
certainly a right to order him to carry his bed. The poor man 
could not afford to lose it, he was not going to leave it by the 
pool, and as he did not carry it for the purpose of business, but 
only in a case of entire necessity, all works of necessity and mer- 
cy are lawful on the Sabbath. 

These were probably Pharisees, who, guessing that it was Jesus 
who cured this man, endeavoured thus to prejudice him, for they 
took every opportunity to show their hatred to our divine Lord. 

Jesus afterwards met the man in the temple, and he told him 
to sin no more, lest a worse evil should overtake him. He had 
probably been a notorious sinner, and brought disease on his body 
by leading a bad life, as drunkards and many others do ; our 
Lord, therefore, warned him against returning to his evil habits. 
All God’s acts of comfort towards us, in curing the diseases of 
our bodies or our minds, should be regarded by us as notices 
from God to love and serve him, and habitually and wilfully to 
sin no more. Remember this, my dear reader, when God chas- 
tises you by affliction, it is very thoughtless and obstinate, and 
awfully wicked to return to sin ; and when he bestows comforts 
upon you, it is ungrateful in the extreme to break his holy laws 
and offend against him. 

The man, finding that it was Jesus who had cured him, went 
and told the Jews, hoping, no doubt, that they would raise the 
fame of his divine Saviour ; instead of which these wicked peo- 
ple only hated him the more, and sought to kill him by bringing 
him before their Sanhedrim or court of justice, to have him con- 
demned for breaking the Sabbath. 

It is thought by some, that what follows in this chapter, was 





child’s commentator. 


1033 


spoken in the temple by Jesus, in vindication of what he had 
done; but some are of opinion that he was taken before the 
Sanhedrim, and that it was his defence there. In this beautiful 
defence, he declared that he was the Son of God, working in 
all he did with God ; that his mission to mankind was from 
heaven, and that none could be saved who did not believe in 
him. His works were proofs that he was no common person; and 
if they had read their Scriptures aright, they would have found 
that he was the true Messiah. 

Notwithstanding his forcible arguments, their hard hearts still 
hated him, and at nothing did they feel more mortified, than that 
he should make himself equal with God, and require “ that all 
men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father.” 
On this account they still sought to kill him. 

It does not, however, appear that they then did more than vent 
their hatred in their looks and words, for we find Jesus again at 
liberty, and proceeding in his work. 


THE SIXTH CHAPTER OF #T. JOHN. 

Christ Compares Himself to Bread. 

u For the bread of God is He which cometh down from heaven, 
and giveth life unto the world.” — Ver. 33. 


In this chapter is recorded the miracle of Christ’s feeding the 
multitude, of which we read in the fourteenth chapter of St. 
Matthew. 

The people were so delighted with this miracle, that they fol- 
lowed him from Tiberias, across the water to Capernaum. Here 
he took occasion to tell them, that he knew they sought only their 
own gratification in followinghim, and that their motive was wrong; 
they thought to make themselves rich and great by following him, 
but they were mistaken. He then told them to labour not so 
much for the body as to forget to feed their souls : that to do this 




1034 child’s commentator. 



they must believe on him. They ungratefully replied, that if he 
would rain manna from heaven they would. Jesus replied, that 
his Father had sent them bread from heaven — the bread of life : 
they asked to be fed with it; but, for the most part, they neither 
understood what Jesus meant by it, nor desired it, thinking only 
of a good supply for their bodies. Then Jesus said, “I am the 
bread of life.” Yes, my dear young reader, those who believe in 
him find life for their souls. Bread sustains the body, and 
Christ only can sustain the soul, and it is by faith that we thus 
feed upon Christ. Food is not more delightful to the hungry 
than Christ is to the believer. 

The Jews were not pleased at what Christnow said, and he let 
them know that he was acquainted with their thoughts concerning 




child’s commentator. 1035 

less than a divine power could overcome it; and, indeed, it is 
so with us all ; there is a natural backwardness in us to receive 
and to love Jesus. This is no excuse, for we ought to love him ; 
there is every thing in him to make him lovely ; but unless God, 
by his grace, touches our hearts, we are all like the Jews, and 
will not eat of this living bread, “ that is, believe in Jesus.” 

Many of Christ’s followers, finding they were mistaken in grati- 
fying their unworthy ends, now left him, “ and walked no more 
with him.” 

“ Then Jesus said unto the twelve, Will ye also go away ?” 
Surely you know better than to leave me, but I want none but 
w illing followers. Go, if you will. Peter directly answered for 
all the rest : “ Lord, to whom shall we go ? thou hast the words of 
eternal life ; and we believe, and are sure , that thou art that 
I Christ” — that Messiah — “ the Son of the living God.” 

1 j Peter and the twelve were not alone in this belief. Many 

thousands, and tens of thousands, have believed and do so believe 
in Jesus; they know from what is related of him, on the best 
' authority, and from what they feel in their own hearts by trusting 
in him, that he is “ the Christ,” the only Saviour. 


THE SEVENTH, EIGHTH, AND NINTH CHAPTERS OF ST. JOHN. 




Christ the Spring or Fountain of Happiness — The accused Woman 
— The Jews try to stone Christ — Christ gives Sight to a Man 
horn Blind. 

“As he spake these words, many believed on him.” — Chap. viii. 13. 


Jesus now left the province of Judea for that of Galilee ; for 
while he remained in Jewry, or Judea, “ the Jews sought to kill 
him ;” but he soon afterwards returned thither at the feast of 
tabernacles, when all the males went to Jerusalem, and when the 
Jews erected tents, or booths, in which they dwelt and ate their 
meals, in commemoration of the Israelites dwelling in booths in 
the wilderness. Here Christ went into the temple and taught the 
38 





1036 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


people ; and they wondered at the divine truths which he told 
them. He also repeated his reproofs to the Jews, and they still 
tried to get a favourable opportunity to kill him, but they could 
not then do it. And in the last great and solemn day of the 
feast, he stood up and cried aloud, “ If any man thirst, let him come 
unto me and drink.” You understand what you have read about the 
woman at the well ; Christ here means the same, that all true life 
proceeds from him ; and that if any man wished then to be happy, 
by coming to him he could make him so; from him he could 
always be supplied, as a thirsty man could from an overflowing 
spring ; he should be brimfhl of happiness, which he expresses by 
saying, that “out of his belly” should “flow rivers of living 
waters.” Springs make rivers, and the more plentiful the springs, 
the larger or more numerous the rivers. Thus his very heart and 
soul should abound with comfort and joy, always flowing like a 
fresh spring, and not like waters that might be dried. 


In the following chapter a woman was brought to him who had 
forsaken her husband and lived with another man. This was 
forbidden by the laws of God, and was to be punished w ith death. 
The Jews brought this woman to Christ, that he might say whether 
she ought to be punished or not. Now, if he had said that she ought, 
they would have accused him to the Sanhedrim and to the Roman 
government, of taking upon himself to sit in judgment without 
any authority, which would have been a high crime; and if he 
had said she was not punishable, they would have accused him of 
contradicting the law of Moses. In both cases, therefore, they 
would have taken an advantage of him ; but with his usual won- 
derful wisdom, he defeated their design, and instead of answering 
their question for his opinion, he said, “ He that is without sin 
among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” Jesus knew that 
her accusers were as wicked as she, and this answer made them 
quite ashamed of themselves : so they all slunk away one by 
one, leaving the woman with Christ, who faithfully and tenderly 
admonished her to “go and sin no more.” 

Jesus still continued to exhort in the temple, and pointed to 



CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


1037 


himself as “the light of the world,” and “many believed on him.” 
He also further reproved the Jews, who became so enraged with 
what he said to them, and especially when he spoke of his own 
eternal residence as the Son of God, that they took up stones 
with which some builders were repairing the temple, that they 
might throw them at him; but Jesus escaped again from their 
hands, for his work on earth was not yet done. 




And as Jesus passed by from the temple, he saw a man who 
was born blind ; and he wet some clay with his spittle, and putting 
it on his eyes, commanded him to go to the pool of Siloam and 
wash there. The man accordingly obeyed him, “ and washed, and 
came seeing.” 

Now, the putting of clay on the man’s eyes could not give him 
sight, nor could the washing in the fountain called Siloam ; but 
this was done to show us that we ought never to despise the use of 
any means, how simple soever they may seem, if those means 
are divinely commanded. Praying to God, and hearing and 
reading the word of God, can never save our souls ; but they 
are all means which we are commanded to use, and in using 
them, with a dependence upon God’s grace, he is pleased to give 
his blessing. 

This miracle attracted much notice, for the man was a public 
beggar, and every body knew him. and now every body asked, “ Is 
not this he that sat and begged V* Then the people wished to learn 
in what wonderful way he had got his sight ; and he told them. 
The Pharisees also soon heard about it, and they were also very 
inquisitive in the matter. The man told them the same story. 
Now this miracle, like that of curing the impotent man, was done 
on the Sabbath-day ; and being still full of malice against Jesus, 
these wicked Pharisees said, that though Jesus might have cured 
the man, yet nevertheless he was a bad man, for he had broken 
the Sabbath. Some few, however, thought differently, and they 
quarrelled among themselves about it. As for the blind man, he 
made up his mind at once that Jesus was a prophet; for ha 
knew that no common person could do what he had done. 


1038 


child’s commentator. 


The Pharisees then sent for the man’s parents, to know if he 
had really been born blind ; or if so, whether perhaps some means 
had not been used to cure him, to which they might ascribe his 
cure rather than to Jesus. The parents were as much surprised 
as the Pharisees, but as they knew nothing about the cure, they were 
obliged to set them again inquiring of the man ; and besides, had 
they known more about it, they were afraid to say what they 
thought of Jesus, for the Pharisees had threatened severely t*o 
punish any who should own that he was the true Messiah; they 
were liable to be put out of the synagogue, which was a sentence 
that did not exclude them from going to the synagogue, but was 
only so called. It was, however, very severe. After this sentence 
no one durst hire the punished person to work, no one durst 
trade with him, and his goods were confiscated, or taken away 
from him. 

The Pharisees again, therefore, spoke to the man who was cured, 
and told him to praise God for it, and not Jesus, for he was no 
more than a sinner. But the man thought more highly of him. 
He who had opened his eyes had thrown some light of knowledge 
into his mind, and given him to see, that he was no sinful crea- 
ture who had cured him. And after disputing their opinion, he 
at once asked them if t ey would become disciples of Jesus. This 
was more than their malicious and proud spirits could bear, and 
tiiey then reviled him and Christ too. The man, however, rea- 
soned well with them, and said, it was very strange indeed that 
they could not see differently into Christ’s character, for it was 
plain enough, that by no human power he could have opened his 
eyes; “Since the world began was it not heard that any man 
opened the eyes of one that was born blind.” 

Being unable any longer to reason the point, they had recourse 
to violence, and they said, “ Dost thou dare to teach us and so 
they cast him out of the synagogue. 

In this pitiable condition the Saviour sought for him and found 
him ; and he said to him, “ Dost thou believe in the Son of God V 1 
that is, Dost thou expect the Messiah % Wilt thou trust in him % 
for in the prophecies he was called the Son of God. The poor 
man’s heart was made ready to receive Christ’s instructions, and 


mrm /^/\r»T\ 







JACOB’S WELL 





CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


1041 


he said, “Who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him ?” Jesus 
then told him ths 
worshipped him. 


then told him that he himself was the Son of God, and the man 


THE TENTH CHAPTER OF ST. JOHN. 

Christ compares himself to a Door — Christ the Good Shepherd . 
“I am the door.” — “lam the good Shepherd.” — Vers. 9 , 11 


This is still a continuation of our Lord’s conversation at the 
temple, at the time that the blind man received his sight; for 
though it is here divided into chapters, for the convenience of our 
reading it in smaller portions, it was not formerly so. 

We find Christ here comparing himself to a door, through 
which it was necessary to enter properly into a sheepfold ; for any 
one climbing over into it did so from bad designs, he was a thief and 
a robber. We have doors of entrance to our houses, and none but 
thieves and robbers think of getting into them by climbing up to 
the windows. 

The allusion was well understood by the Jews. The sheepfold 
was “an inclosure, sometimes in the manner of a building, and 
made of stone, and sometimes was fenced with reeds, and in it was 
a large door, at which the shepherd went in and out when he led 
in or brought out the sheep.” 

Now the real shepherd would always enter in by that door, that 
is, by the proper way, and the man who watched the door inside, 
and watched the sheep there, would always open the door on hear- 
ing his voice. The sheep too would directly know him, when he 
called them by name ; for in eastern countries the shepherds know 
their sheep as we know our dogs, and they give them names, and 
when they are called, they will come to the shepherd out of the 
flock, and answer to their names, as a dog we know will answer 
us. With the same familiarity they would also follow their shep- 
herd, who frequently, in old times, went before them, playing some 
musical instrument. But if a stranger attempted to lead them, 
they took fright at the sound of his voice, and ran away. 


1042 


child’s commentator. 


By the sheepfold Christ meant his Church, to which he was the 
only way of entrance; and he tells the Pharisees and people, that 
whoever before claimed to be the Messiah had deceived them, for 
he alone was the Saviour of the world ; therefore he alone that 
went in and out of this fold, under his guidance, would find happi 
ness and peace. 

Again Christ says, “ I am the good shepherd : the good shep- 
herd giveth his life for the sheep.” So you read that David 
exposed his life, and fought with wild beasts to save his father’s 
flock. Christ our good shepherd, actually gave himself up to 
death that his sheep might not perish, unlike the hireling, that 
cares not for them ; and if his life is endangered by protecting 
them, hastily flees and leaves them to the devouring wolf. 

Thus he loved his church, and gave himself for it. Among the 
Jews he had many sheep, whom he came to save ; but not among 
them only, but also among the Gentiles — among the heathen, that 
is, the nations that were not Jews, of which we form a part. 
Jesus further says, “And other sheep I have, which are not of this 
fold ; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice ; and 
there shall be one fold and one Shepherd.” 

The temple was profaned by Antiochus, who sacrificed a sow in 
the holy of holies, of which you have read in the account I have 
given you of the History of the Jews, between the time recorded 
in the Old and New Testaments. The Jews, therefore, held a 
feast of dedication, which was appointed by J udas Maccabseus and 
his brethren, on account of the purging of it, and renewing the 
altar. The next account given us of Jesus is, that he was at this 
dedication, and walking in a porch of the temple, called Solomon’s 
porch — for this porch “ was covered over, and the outside of it was 
inclosed with a wall, which made it very convenient for such a 
purpose.” Here again the Jews assailed him, and wanted Jesus 
to own that he w r as the Messiah, that they might find a ground for 
putting him to death as an impostor. 

We have here the answer of Jesus to them, leaving them to 
judge by his deeds, whether or not he was the Messiah : “ The 
works that 1 do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me.” 

Once more the Saviour escaped from an attempt of the Jews to 




child’s commentator. 1043 


stone or take him, “and went away beyond Jordan into the place 
where John at first baptized, and there he abode.” “ And many 
believed on him there.” 


THE ELEVENTH, TWELFTH, THIRTEENTH, AND FOURTEENTH CHAPTERS 
OF ST. JOHN. 

Christ raises Lazarus from the dead — Christ comforts his Disciples 
by promising his Holy Spirit. 

“ This man doeth many miracles.” — Chap. xi. 47. 

“ And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Com- 
forter, that he may abide with you for ever ; even the Spirit 
of truth.” — Chap. xiv. 16, 17. 


At a village called Bethany, about two miles from Jerusalem, 
there lived two sisters, Martha and Mary, of whom we have read 
in the tenth chapter of Luke. They had a brother named 
Lazarus, and he seemed to have been an excellent man, for Jesus 
loved him, as he did also Martha and her sister, who were pious 
women. 

Lazarus was taken ill, and his sisters sent unto him, saying, 
“ Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.” But Jesus delayed 
going to see him, till he was dead. This he did that he might 
try the faith of his sisters, and see if they really believed in his 
divine power to raise him again ; and also that he might perform 
another miracle, to confirm the faith of his disciples. 

When Jesus arrived at Bethany, Lazarus had lain in the grave 
four days ; and there were many Jews at the house of his friends, 
comforting the bereaved sisters. As soon as Martha heard that 
he was coining, she hastened out to meet him, and perhaps to 
warn him, in case he might consider himself in danger from the 
Jews. Mary continued a mourner in the house, for she did not 
know that Jesus had arrived, and she had a most sincere love for 
him. 

Martha complained, “ Lord, if thou hadst been here, my bro 


SUfSSBs 



1044 child's commentator. 

ther had not died.” This proved how high an opinion she had of 
his power to save him ; and she seems to have had faith enough, 
to believe it possible that he might raise him from the dead. 

After some further conversation with Jesus, Martha hastened 
to call her sister, who suddenly leaving the house, was supposed 
by the Jews to have gone to weep over her brother’s grave, ac- 
cording to a frequent custom — and so they followed her. 

As soon as Mary came to Jesus, she also said as her sister had 
said, “ Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died 
showing by this, that she had the same belief in his power. The 
biessed Jesus, w T ho had all the feelings of our nature, was tenderly 
touched at the affecting scene, and going to his sepulchre, “Jesus 
wept.” Oh, the kindness of his heart! Who could but love him ! 

Some of the Jews, who did not like him, reasoned wisely 
enough, and said, that since he had opened the eyes of the blind, 
surely he might as easily raise the dead; but they said this, in 
order to raise a doubt whether he ever had done such a thing in 
reality, as made the blind to see. ; 

Jesus now went to the cave, in which, according to a custom of 
the Jews, the body was placed, “ and a stone lay upon it,” or ra- 
ther upon the mouth of the cave. Jesus immediately desired i] 
if the stone to be removed, and “ cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, 
come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and 
foot with grave-clothes ;” having several folds <>f linen wrapped 
about him, which was another custom of those times, “and his 
face was bound about with a napkin,” that is, round the forehead, 
and under the chin. Jesus then said to the persons at the grave, 

“ Loose him, and let him go.” 

This miracle made many more Jews believe in Christ; but 
some remained so astonishingly obstinate, that still they would 
not believe he was the Messiah ; and being filled with hatred to 
him because he was becoming so popular, they went and told the 
Pharisees, probably that they might adopt more crafty or active 
means to take him and put him to death. 

The Pharisees were more alarmed than ever, and began seriously 
to think what it was most wise to do, to prevent the people from 
becoming the disciples of Jesus. They acknowledged that he did 



child’s commentator. 


1045 


many miracles, and that if he proceeded in this manner, all men 
would believe in him. This was a reason why they themselves 
should have believed in him, as the promised Messiah ; but it 
showed the blindness of their hearts that they did not. 

“Jesus, therefore, walked no more openly. among the Jews,” 
at or near Jerusalem ; he did not teach in their streets, nor work 
miracles, nor appear in public company ; but went and resided in 
a little and obscure city called Ephraim. 

Most of the remainder of John’s Gospel is a repetition of facts 
mentioned by the other evangelists ; only this evangelist gives 
us some of his conversations and discourses which they did not. 


\ 


In the thirteenth and fourteenth chapters, we have his dis- 
course with his disciples, after supper, when he had convicted and 
cast off the wicked Judas, and when their hearts were very sor- 
rowful at what he had said about leaving them. It is one of the 
finest proofs of the Saviour’s kind and affectionate heart ; and in 
it he bids them to look for another Comforter when he should 
have returned to his Father ; by that Comforter he meant the 
Holy Spirit, who should abide with them for ever. That Spirit 
now dwells in all believers, and they feel his gracious and com- 
forting influences on their minds. How he dwells in them no one 
can explain, any more than we can explain how the soul dwells 
in the body ; but we know, and are sure that it does, for the body 
would be dead without the soul ; or if it could live by any com- 
mon principle of animal life, such as beasts possess, yet it could 
not reason and think without the soul. Believers feel that they 
have the Holy Spirit abiding in them, by the holy principles he 
gives them, and by the hoi)' desires and habits they contract ; 
and by the hopes and joys and comforts they possess ; all of which 
are quite of another nature from what they had before the Holy 
Spirit took possession of their hearts. Thousands and tens of 
thousands who believe in Jesus, all have these same feelings and 
influences more or less. So that they are not mere wild notions 
taken up by a few enthusiastic people, but person? of different 
constitutions, young and old, learned and unlearned, of all coun- 
tries, climes, and colours, who believe in Jesus, have evidently the 



1046 


child’s commentator. 


same Holy Spirit, the Comforter, taking possession of their hearts, 
and dwelling there. The words of Jesus to his disciples, spoken 
in this beautiful discourse, are, therefore, fulfilling every day. 

Worldly people who do not love Christ, but who love and follow 
sin, and worldly enjoyments, and pleasures, laugh at these truths, 
and do not believe them, because they know nothing of them, just 
as a dead body cannot know any thing about the life of the living ; 
but when God gives spiritual life to the soul, then he who never 
knew any thing about the comforting and holy influences of the 
Holy Spirit the Comforter before, is no more a stranger to them, 
but feels as other believers feel. “ If ye love me,” says Jesus, 
“keep my commandments; and I will pray the Father, and he 
shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you 
for ever ; even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot re- 
ceive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him : but ye 
know him, for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” 


THE FIFTEENTH CHAPTER OF ST. JOHN. 

The Parable of the Vine and Branches . 


i 


“I am the Vine, ye are the branches.” — Ver. 5. 


Christ here speaks the parable of the Vine. The wine which 
had just been drunk at supper with his disciples, afforded our di- 
vine Lord an opportunity of comparing himself with it. He had 
said he was Bread and Living Water, to them that believed on 
him ; and now he says, “ I am the true Vine.” He also com- 
pares his Father to the Husbandman. 

You know that most of the wines, and all those which were 
drunk at this supper, were made of the fruit of the vine — that is, 
the grape. Christ compares himself to the vine, because he wished 
to show his disciples how closely by faith they were united to 
him. He therefore compares them to branches; and he says, 
“ Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away ; and 
every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring 




child’s commentator. 1047 

forth more fruit.” Fruit is that which the tree produces of any 
real value. Now, in like manner as the branch united to the vine 
is expected to bring forth fruit, so those who are by faith united 
to Jesus Christ, are expected to bring forth their fruits. What 
these fruits are, we may learn from the like expressions in other 
parts of the sacred Scriptures — “ fruits meet for repentance — fruits 
unto holiness — the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus to 
the praise and glory of God.” 

Now, if we profess to belong to Christ, and do not bear these 
fruits, we are cut off as the husbandman cuts off the useless or 
withered branch; for we have no proper union with him, and 
receive no more life from him, than a withered branch does from 
the tree. And if we belong to Christ, and really are his disciples 
from the heart, yet his heavenly Father purges the branches of 
the true vine. By purging is here meant pruning. The vine is 
taken much care of in the East. It is of great importance there, 
because it furnishes refreshing drink. Its grapes are very large 
indeed, and full of fine juice. But in a wild state it would not 
produce in this manner. All this fruitfulness is effected by culti- 
vation ; and if it have too many branches, the fruit becomes 
weakened ; for the fewer the branches, the more juices the root 
sends up into those which remain, and the stronger the fruit 
which they yield. For this reason the knife is freely used to cut 
off the superfluous branches which are not likely to bring forth 
good fruit. 

You must recollect all this is merely the language of compa- 
rison ; that is, “like as the husbandman prunes the vine, my 
heavenly Father will prune you who are my disciples and by 
pruning, cleansing, or purging, the vine, as it is here called, we 
are taught that there is much in us that requires often to be 
removed, even if we are Christ’s real disciples ; and it is chiefly by 
afflictions that God will prune us, so that we must not wonder 
when good people suffer under trials — they are the pruning-knives 
which purge or take away the branches that are useless. 

Christ proceeds, urging that his disciples should therefore abide 
closely in him, living by faith on him as the Son of God, cleaving 
with all their hearts to him ; and he tells them, “ as the bfanen 


|J» s7M v, 

1 


1048 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine : no more 
can ye, except ye abide in me.” lie further says, that those who 
abide in him bring forth “ much fruit;” and this abiding in him, 
is the very reason ; for the branch now derives nourishment from 
the root — the believer thus draws strength from Christ — for he 
continues, *• without me ye can do nothing.” This is the. reason 
why we read about Christ — hear about Christ — talk about Christ 
— think about Christ — and pray to Christ, that our minds may 
more and more be full of Christ, and so that we may get fresh 
supplies from him, as the branch does from the root of the tree. 

And then he tells us of the awful fate of those that are not in 
him, or do not continue in him ; those who never have believed in 
him, or have only made a profession of it, but have not believed 
in reality : “ If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, 
and is withered ; and men gather them, and cast them into the 
fire, and they are burned.” The dried and separated wood is only 
fit for fuel, a dreadful emblem of the condition of those who are 
only fit for eternal burnings. Let us then bear on our memories 
our Lord’s concluding exhortation : “ Herein is my Father glori- 
fied, that ye bear much fruit ; so shall ye be my disciples.” 


THE SIXTEENTH CHAPTER OF ST. JOHN TO THE END. 

Christ commits his Mother Mary to the care of John — His certain 
Death from the Soldier 'piercing his Side — His Appearances 
after his Resurrection. 

“And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his 
disciples, which are not written in this book. 

“ But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the 
Christ the Son of God, and that believing ye might have life 
through his name.” — Chap. xxi. 30, 31. 


We have now gone through the principal passages of the fbui 
Evangelists : a few things only remain in John of which it may 
be necessary that we should take a short notice. 



THE ASCENSION 








% 



sm 



child’s commentator. 1051 


The first is in the nineteenth chapter , and twenty -fifth and 
following verses. We here learn that three Marys stood by the 
cross of Jesus when he was nailed upon it, and dying with his 
crucifixion : Mary his mother — Mary his mother’s sister, who 
was the wife of Cleophas — and Mary Magdalene. As for our sakes 
the blessed Jesus became poor, he had nothing to leave his 
mother; and as Joseph was without doubt now dead, and she was 
getting old, he was affectionately concerned for her, that she 
should not want for comfort and support in her last days. This, 

1 think, is a most lovely trait in the character of Jesus. Though 
he was then in the deepest agony of body on the cross, he forgot 
his pains to think on his poor afflicted mother. He therefore 
commended her to the care of his beloved disciple, John. “Woman,” 
said he, — and you remember that I have before told you, that this 
name, so spoken, was a title of respect — “ behold thy son !” as 
l much as to say, “ I am going away from earth, and thou canst \ 
therefore have this body with thee no longer, but look upon John 
as thy son ; and I know the kindness of his heart, that for my 
sake he will love thee, and treat thee as a son.” And then he said 1 
to John, “ Behold thy mother;” meaning, “ behave towards her i 

as a son ; take care of her ; comfort her in her old age.” / 

“ Christ,” says Mr. Henry, “ has here taught children to the | 
utmost of their power to provide for the comfort of their aged ! 

parents. When David was in distress, he took care of his parents, | 

and found out a shelter for them.” Some writers say that Mary 
lived with John at Jerusalem eleven years, and then died; and 
others say that she lived longer, and removed with him to Ephesus ; 
but the Scripture gives us no more information on this subject. 
Jesus knew that John loved him, and would therefore obey him ; 
and no doubt but he behaved towards her as a kind son to the day 
of her death. 

In the thirty first and following verses of the same chapter, 
we also read some particulars respecting the crucifixion of the 
blessed Jesus which are not mentioned by the other Evangelists. 

“ The Jews, therefore, because it was the preparation, that the 
bodies should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath-day (for 
that Sabbath-day was an high day), besought Pilate that their legs 




1052 


child's commentator. 


might be broken, and that they might be taken away.” It was 
now the preparation time for the Sabbath-day, which at the 
period of the Passover was a grand festival — it was one of the days 
of unleavened bread, and some reckon, the day of the offering of 
the first-fruits. The Jews were therefore afraid of a breach of 
the law on that day ; for, according to the Jewish law, Deut. xxi. 
22, 23, the body of one that was hanged on a tree, was not to re- 
main all night, but to be taken down that day and buried. Among 
the Romans the carcases remained to be eaten by birds ; but the 
Jews were taught to consider them as defiling the land, and 
viewed it as still more shocking for such a thing to take place on 
their sacred Sabbath. 

Now, this circumstance led to a certain proof that Jesus had 
really died for us on the cross ; a fact very important, or when 
he rose from the grave, it might have been said, that he was not 
then dead, and so it was no resurrection, but only a recovery from 
the faintness occasioned by his sufferings. 


Tho Jews took care that the bodies should not be taken down 
alive, and that the criminals should not escape, so to hurry their j 
death, they used to break their legs : and this they now begged j 
permission of Pilate to do. “But when they came to Jesus, and I 
saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs. But one ( 
of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came 
there out blood and water.” The soldier did this to try if he 
were dead or not; and at all events he seemed resolved that he 
would give a finishing stroke to his life. The mixture of blood 
and water showed that the wound was of such a nature, that had 
he received it at any time, it was sufficient of itself to kill him. 
Now his death was of the utmost importance to us. If Jesus had 
not died we must have perished. If he had not so died, we should, 
as just intimated, have had no such strong proof of his living 
again, which is equally important for our salvation ; for now we 
who trust in him may rest on his word, “ Because I live ye shall 
live also.” And on these accounts the Evangelist John is very | 
particular, not only in stating this fact, but in adding that h& 1 
had it not from mere hearsay, but that he himself saw it, being 
near the cross at the time, “ And he that saw it bare record, and 





child’s commentator. 1053 

nis record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye 
might believe.” 

You see, then, how much depends upon many of the little par- 
ticulars which the Evangelists have mentioned ; and how desira- 
ble it was that John should supply facts with which perhaps the 
others were not so well acquainted, and which they might not, 
like him, have heard or seen. 

You remember that after the resurrection of Jesus, he appeared 
to two of the disciples, going to Emmaus, a village about seven 
miles from Jerusalem, and that he “sat at meat with them, and 
took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them,” and 
then “ vanished out of their sight,” or suddenly left them, while 
they were overcome with surprise at the discovery they just then 
made that it was Jesus himself; for before “ their eyes were 
holden that they should not know him.” That they then imme- 
diately returned to Jerusalem, where they “found the eleven 
gathered together and while some present were saying, that 
Jesus had appeared to Simon, they also declared that they had 
seen him. (See the twenty-fourth chapter of St. Luke.) After 
this he suddenly appeared among all the other disciples, save 
Thomas; and they told him, in a transport of joy, “We have 
seen the Lord” with our own eyes, and consequently can have no 
further doubt of the truth of his resurrection. 

Now the Evangelist John tells us of a very particular circum- 
stance that happened at this time. Thomas would not believe 
what even all the rest told him ; and he declared that nothing 
should satisfy him about the Saviour’s resurrection, short of see- 
ing and touching him himself: “ Except,” said he, “ I shall See in 
his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print 
of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.” 
Eight days after this, Jesus appeared among the disciples, when 
Thomas was with them ; and he said to Thomas, “ Reach hither 
thy finger, and behold my hands ; and reach hither thy hand and 
thrust it into my side ; and be not faithless but believing.” Tho- 
mas was astonished, and instantly confessed that it was indeed 
his divine Master, who was alive again ; and he said to him, full 
of love, and gratitude, and praise, “ My Lord, and my God !” 


! 





1054 


child’s commentator. 


This is another very important fact, not mentioned by the other 
Evangelists, but noticed by John, and it serves to show how sa- 
tisfactorily all the disciples were informed of the truth of our 
Lord’s resurrection. 

John also relates another appearance which took place at the 
sea of Tiberias. There were then present six disciples. Peter 
went a fishing, and not having succeeded, he and his companions 
were desired by Jesus, who stood unknown on the shore, to cast 
their net on the right side of the ship, and then they caught so 
many that they were unable to draw them up. John, “ the dis- 
ciple whom Jesus loved” in a very particular manner, on seeing 
this miracle, said directly, “ It is the Lord and Peter instantly, 
without waiting to get ashore in the ship, cast off his fisherman’s 
coat, and swam ashore to meet Christ. It is said “ he was naked,” 
but this does not mean quite so, but only that he had thrown off 
his cumbrous upper garment; so we call a person stripped who 
has thrown off his coat, though he has many other garments re- 
maining on him. 

The other disciples soon after landed with the fish, and “ they 
saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread,” which 
Jesus had also miraculously prepared. 

Jesus then invited the disciples to dine. This was “ the third 
time that Jesus showed himself to his disciples.” He had been 
often seen by individuals or small groups, but this was the third 
time he had showed himself to them when many of them were 
together. 

And now he asked Peter to say, if he still loved him. And he 
asked him three times, because he had denied him three times. 
He did this, perhaps, to humble Peter for his offence, and, at the 
same time, to show his disciples, that he was yet a true disciple, 
whom they should not reproach, since he had forgiven him; for 
after each answer he commanded him to feed his lambs and his 
sheep, meaning the young and the old of his sincere followers, 
who are called his flock. 

I have now taken notice of all the leading facts, and of some of 
the most difficult passages mentioned in the four gospels. I am 
aware that you will yet find some things, which I have not tried 




1055 



child’s commentator. 


to explain, and which you may wish to understand ; but respect- 
ful questions, put to those who know better than yourselves, may 
now help you easily through all difficulties. 

The Evangelist in conclusion tells us, that “ there are also 
many other things which Jesus did, the which if they should be 
written every one,” “ even the world itself could not contain the 
books that should be written.” No more is meant by this than 
children sometimes mean, when they say of a large quantity of 
things, “ there are oceans.” They do not mean that there are as 
many as would fill the beds of oceans, but quite an abundance. 
So the Evangelist John simply meant, that there were many 
more prayers, many more conversations, many more miracles, 
many more kind acts of Jesus, which would have filled an im- 
mense number of volumes, had they been recorded; but as we 
can remember a few better than all, enough only are related that 
we “ might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and 
that believing,” we “ might have life through his name.” 






1056 child’s commentator. 


THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 


THE FIRST AND SECOND CHAPTERS OF THE ACTS. 

History of what the Apostles of Christ said and did immediately 
after his Death , Resurrection, and Ascension — Peter's first Ser- 
mon. 

“ While they beheld, he was taken up ; and a cloud received him 
out of their sight.” — Chap. i. 9. 

It is generally agreed by writers on Scripture, that this book 
was written by the Evangelist Luke. As “ the former treatise,” 
or his Gospel, w T as written respecting “ all” — meaning a great 
number of things — “that Jesus began both to do and teach,” as 
were also the treatises of Matthew, Mark, and John, so this was 
written to relate the “ acts” or what his faithful servants did 
from the time of his death, and gives the history of about thirty 
years. This history does not tell us all things that the first minis- 
ters of Christ did, any more than the evangelists tell us all that 
Christ did ; but it tells us all that is necessary to show us the di- 
vine power which attended the preaching of the apostles, whom 
Jesus appointed to spread it over the world. 

I told you in my remarks on the tenth of Matthew, that 
“Apostles” means persons who are sent ; that is, in other language, 
messengers. The first disciples were Christ’s messengers, as all 
good ministers must be, declaring to men the message of mercy, 
which he wished them to know, when he said, “ Go ye out into 
all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature ;” tell every 
creature the glad tidings — the good news — which 1 have told you. 

Now we shall see how the apostles obeyed their divine Master, 
and what success attended their labours. 








- T— X 


In .’mujitjr Te xan Imc Je^us- anc^ar^ti x iis ii'- nitre 
i £ dufiir^sit _:: iirnic - ” — -lars msar k.s r ijarr gg Tf eii. :mr 

Hiixdtt _HefEL ~n :tn ~ ~n rui rrm t - ~n,; o> xt'XilUU: ~i lit vDS£?; m 

at ^vki ~ ut. i& is ~n«-An>. me iecM*£ or yjt -n.n^r me %»>eeu. 

— 

x> renaui s£emer as Jerieiiienu imr i* ^•'vais ir 3* ~rsfr st 
*c me Jumer x mss me sae nui istr-e Accaer aminner ^riex 

— 5 uu SgTHir — -nl—r wfcte Aw ^hutf fcril 

n HKir 'leiT' ' — ~n«r ie emniiti sr*e mesr saea ~ag a - 

mini ~.:aim£ imiier . r ar^r- itni it nr«Sc!iiZir _: c se. n 
&I lane «c me 

^Tiile Cir -c ^'~rrir ineri-iii'i'TK. ie ifna. 7 ~ me rr. 

jsraBEiie so irtu aenreHL n a av-x * like "» mas it -v men it ir;* 
iaes ±L an Aeeemie-i * jmi a txowt rwHvwi imr Mt at eerifc~ 
Ib» agdk dfca a^ywi arf ^ ifcfr garf ajfc xwro»r *c jb> 
e,\ 3- tuiii mem mac in me same anmner Jeane saeniir nrkn. 

iH.dc aft tfar tiaat vdfcan kt dkaQ. xnat V* h^» at* 
^ kicZ. lie jox'unc at iirs ka*as * m^rt at/’” 'vmn.it is iem 
■ml fiitt wind! v^«taMMafcraaK ftiaMMMLwi A nhii 
iiuaeaeki an. ^ie means etVHi^c. a sect <fisaiit Zwt-fccisitfn “ 1 
S*iiQ*ca-:A • 5 , wur* ie or me ih>mnce auavrok \Tt^«r x nt. v 
atL a SsHO*Ct-Z^w> «aa*i a aile. *c ler-mrs jv ffri: m ess. 

.A -H*r Jesus xki Aseetrkt*i it? Jteawtu a.e %fcxtD*es Assaiir; ?**nr 
: :r-caer n * ah xnec i-mntT 'vmea vas- a sir:s?*i mace. nme m 
:xir 31 _rin pro* jstT mesa v jnrta 'riv nae. si x ivm ii <m. 
me Z: ar uunx: >'am 

Festr lev aosamsi it? mesa taac *r*rs 3wv xipfcurr. ao^ 

«df an» t vefew WnyjafiinBMtftnnv lin ttwvitr-y at ^nin\ 

x ni-cav.v?^ Amif-i^r. amr ossc cn. x? 

•i Uk;v» »a< ai 3 - >aca. a a*i- vssa : '‘‘swttie vtx va Hi t a^s 

la — Mhwhg InrftiiL fViii 1 j ilalW^irckt^ tirfu % i 

iae uctitf ♦ xki boos ? rtt Cb vc Jfc 

iC ;,> u -. vr k«t 3 u^ ii^itivtc' t: C 3 \? 

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v> -il<r . •' ir*-S< lUtvija^vt A tVxV? % s^I K } 'ttv > f r V i Jv‘ ro 0A> 

no xu^ac Aoc iia, 3 -u.c -ac -fc; «tvi i ^ ’cvceu'^ fcfct* it 




1060 


child’s commentator. 


that very field he hung himself upon a high tree, from which he 
fell, and died in so dreadful a manner. 

The day of Pentecost was the fiftieth and last day from the 
day on which the Jews offered the first fruits of their harvest, as 
a token of gratitude to God ; and that day of offering the fruits 
was the second day of the feast of the passover. On that day the 
disciples of Jesus were all met together “in one place;” and 
while they were so met, a singular sound filled the house, as 
though a wind were rushing through it, and flames, like fire, ap- 
peared on each of those assembled, having the shape of ongues, 
cloven, or divided. This was a miraculous token, that the “Holy 
Ghost,” whose divine influences Jesus had promised, to comfort, 
strengthen, and instruct his disciples, had now come among them, 
in proof of which they “ began to speak with other tongues” than 
their own. 

Now, you must know, that it requires some time and labour, 

^ and diligence, to learn different languages, but these disciples 
knew a number of languages at once ; and the reason of this v. as, 
that they might directly tell people of different countries, who 
came to Jerusalem, about all the great things that Jesus had 
done, and what had happened to him, that sinners of mankind, in 
every country, might be saved. 

At this time a great lumber of Jews, who inhabited various 
countries of the world, as they do now, — though the nation was 
not then entirely dispersed, — had visited Jerusalem, most likely 
to be present at the passover ; and hearing of the wonderful event 
which had taken place, they ran to the house where the disciples 
were, and there was universal astonishment when they found, that 
these disciples could speak the languages of all the countries 
whence they had come. Some of the people of Jerusalem, who 
hated Christ and his disciples, mocked, and said vhat they were 
drunk. They were more like drunken men themselves, who could 
suppose that men could speak other languages than their own 
merely because they were tipsy ; and if they had not been full of 
prejudice and hatred against Christ and his disciples, they would 
never have suggested so foolish a reason for their being all at once 




child’s COMMENTATOR. 1061 


so learned. However, the apostle Peter thought proper to answei 
them, and he preached a discourse on the occasion. He was al- 
ways forward to speak, and he now spoke to some purpose. 

He said, that what they heard was the extraordinary work 
of the Holy Spirit, as foretold by the prophets ; that the troubled 
state of the world, and especially of the Jewish nation, which then 
existed, and was on an increase, was the sign by which they might 
understand the words of the prophet, for God had said by Joel, 
that he would pour out his Spirit, w hen there should be “ blood, 
and fire, and vapour of smoke and when “the sun” should “be 
turned into darkness, and the moon into blood,” language which 
1 have before pointed out as figurative, or representing by the 
figure of awful appearances, and darkness in the heavens, the de- 
solations which were, and were also coming on the earth, and es- 
pecially on the Jewish nation. A few r years only after this, the 
whole of this prophecy was completed, for the temple, city, and 
nation of the Jew's, were all made desolate. Peter then added, 
that Jesus had appeared jpnong the people — “ a man approved of 
God” — that is, “declared by him to be the true Messiah and 
Saviour of the w orld,” “ by miracles, and w'onders, and signs, 
which God did by him ;” that they knew that all this was true ; 
and yet they had, “by wicked hands,” crucified this Saviour. 
But he had broken the bands of death, and was risen, a fact fore- 
told of the Messiah by David, and therefore Jesus was the 
Messiah. That “that same Jesus, whom they had crucified,” 
was “ both Lord and Christ ;” “ Lord of all,” and the true 
Messiah, which is the same as Christ. 

“ Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart ;” 
that is, “ the word of God entered into them, which cut and laid 
open their hearts, and the sin and wickedness of them and they 
felt as you have perhaps felt, when you have been detected in 
doing something you ought not to have done, and perhaps some- 
thing very bad indeed ; for shame and guilt pierce and wound the 
soul, as a sword cuts and pains the body. And they “ said unto 
Peter, and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, w hat 
shall we do?” Peter told them they must “ repent;” that is, 
their minds must be turned and altered, and they must be ex- 




10G2 CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 

ceedingly sorry for the wickedness they had done, and they must 
be “ baptized,” as a proof that they had embraced the religion of 
Jesus, and then the Holy Ghost would work in their hearts, and 
make them both holy and happy. 

In the course of the day, no less than “ three thousand souls” 
repented and believed the Gospel, from the preaching of Peter, 
and were baptized, as a sign that they were added to the number 
of Christ’s disciples. 


THE THIRD AND FOURTH CHAPTERS OF THE ACTS. 


The lame Man restored at the Gate of the Temple — Peter's second 
Sermon — The Apostles Peter and John taken before the Jewish 
Sanhedrim , and prohibited from preaching Christ. 

u And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resur- 
rection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them > 
all.” — Chap. iv. 33. 


We have here the account of the apostles Peter and John work- 
ing a miracle. We are told that they went up to the temple at 
the hour of prayer, and there they saw a poor man, who was born 
lame, and who was daily carried to the gate of the temple, which 
was “called Beautiful,” on account of its being more handsome 
than the other gates. As he was unable to work, here he was tc 
be seen begging alms of the charitable. As the two apostles en- 
tered, he asked them also to give him something. Little did he 
expect what he should get by that supplication. “ Peter said, Sil- 
ver and gold have I none ; but such as I have give I thee : in the 
name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. And he 
took him by the right hand, and lifted him up : and immediately 
his feet and ancle-bones received strength. And he, leaping up, 
stood and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walk 
ing and leaping, and praising God.” 

The cure of the man drew together a great number of people, 




all wondering at what they saw ; and Peter again embraced the 
opportunity of preaching a sermon to them, in which he told 
them the same truths as before, and urged them to repent of their 
sins, and to submit to Jesus as the Saviour of sinners, that 
Almighty Saviour, by whose power he had performed this cure. 

Ministers cannot work such miracles now. It is not necessary 
that they should : for since the first preachers of the gospel 
proved by these, that the message they had to deliver was the 
message of God, the message was sufficiently proved by them to 
be true, and the miracles by which it was so proved, had no need 
to be repeated. Yet, God still shows, in other ways, when minis- 
ters preach his word, by often converting sinners, that is, turning 
them from their evil practices through their preaching. And 
when the word of God converts a sinner, it is clear that something 
works on his heart which is above the power of man, for we can 
never turn a sinner from his evil ways, but God’s power can. 

This is then a miracle, which often attends the preaching of the 
ministers of Christ, and the gospel which they preach is — “ the 
power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” This 
miracle is often so great, that those who know how wicked and 
hardened, or careless a sinner has been, and see the change which | 
the gospel has made upon him, are struck with as much admira- I 
tion, as those who saw the cure of the lame man at the gate 
Beautiful. 

The Jewish priests who had opposed Christ, now tried to stop 
the mouths of his apostles, so they laid hold of them to prevent 
them from preaching again ; and well might they fear the success 
of the apostles, for, under this sermon, no less than five thousand 
souls were converted! 

The next day, the apostles, with the man that was cured, were 
taken before the Jewish Sanhedrim at Jerusalem, where were 
assembled together their rulers, elders, scribes, and priests ; and 
the apostles were asked by what power they had cured the man, 
whether by the help of the devil, as they thought, or by the help 
of God. At this moment the Holy Ghost filled Peter’s heart with 
the greatest courage, and he again preached, having the rulers 
and priests to hear him. These were not converted, but never. 






10G4 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


theless they were struck with wonder at “ the boldness of Peter 
and of John,” for they recollected them as having been among 
the timid disciples of Jesus, who once all forsook him and fled. 
They could not also contradict a fact so clearly proved, that the 
lame man was cured ; but lest the news of the resurrection should 
be spread, and the name of Jesus be increasingly honoured, they 
commanded the apostles in future, to refrain from saying anything 
about the blessed Saviour. But they said, “We cannot but speak 
the things which we have seen and heard and the rulers and 
priests were obliged to let them go, for they had no charge to 
bring against them ; they had done a kind act, they had told no 
lie, and if they had punished them, which they would have done 
but “ because of the people,” every body would now have resist- 
ed their authority as cruel and unjust. 

The apostles being set free, again joined their brethren, and ] 
told them of their treatment and escape. Then they all united 
together in prayer to God, to give them courage still to speak his ; 
word, and to enable them to show it was his word, by performing 
more miracles. And God gave them another sign as on the day 
of Pentecost, — a mighty shaking of the place where they were 
assembled, such as when a house is shaken with the wind, and by 
this sign they knew that the Holy Ghost would give them new 
power and energy, which immediately was the case, “ and they 
spake the word of God with boldness.” 


THE FIFTH CHAPTER OF THE ACTS. 

Ananias and Sapphira struck dead for lying — The Apostles Peter 
and John thrown into Prison — Released by an Angel — Taken 
again before the Sanhedrim , scourged , and set at liberty. 

“ And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as 
heard these things.” — Yer. 11. 

There were now above eight thousand Christians ; and as they 
were liable to great afflictions and persecutions in embracing the 
faith of Christ, they all readily agreed to sell their possessions, 




child’s commentator. 1065 


and to put all their money into one common stock, and so help 
each other, just as they might stand in need. 

But a man named Ananias, and Sapphira his wife, while pro- 
fessing to do as the rest did, gave only a part of their property, 
and slily kept back the rest. This was very wicked, because, in 
so doing they told a lie they as much as said, when they laid 
the money “at the apostles’ feet,” here is all we have got, when 
they had ever so much more. 

Liars think they cannot be found out ; but God can always 
find them out. And so he did here. His Holy Spirit told Peter’s 
mind that Ananias had kept back part of his money ; and he 
told Ananias that Satan had got possession of his heart to do so 
wicked a thing; that no one wanted to take his money from him 
if he had chosen to keep it, but he should not have pretended to 
give it all, and then keep back part ; and, that having done so, 
1 he lied “ unto God,” and committed a grievous sin against him. 

Ananias was terrified at this discovery ; he was convicted of 
i his sin, and instantly fell down dead. 




106G 


child’s commentator. 





In about three hours after this, Sapphira made her appearance, 
and not having heard of the death of her husband, she expected 
to see him among the disciples of Christ, received as one of his 
sincere and liberal followers. Peter then asked her, for how much 
the land was sold, for which Ananias had given the money. 
And she told him the same lie as Ananias, having agreed with 
him to deceive the apostles. Peter then rebuked her for daring 
to tempt or try the Spirit of the Lord, by seeing if it were not 
possible to conceal from his inspired apostles so base an action ; 
and he said, “ Behold, the feet of them which have buried thy 
husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. Then fell she 
down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost; and the 
young men came in and found her dead ; and carrying her forth, 
buried her by her husband. And great fear came upon all the 
church, and upon as many as heard these things.” And well 
might they fear. These were awful examples of the hatred which 
God has to lying; for Peter could not have killed Ananias and 
Sapphira merely by what he said : it was God’s hand that killed 
them. Oh ! my dear young reader, if you have ever told a lie, 
praise God that he never struck you dead for it, as he did Ana- 
nias and Sapphira, and as he sometimes has others of whom I have 
heard.* 

Sorrow sincerely that you ever committed so horrible a crime. 
Pray earnestly that God would pardon you for Christ’s sake ; and 
implore grace from his Holy Spirit that you may be preserved 
from doing such wickedness any more. 

The apostles continued working miracles and preaching, “ and 
believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of 
men and women.” The people also, learning what cures the apos- 
tles performed in the name of Jesus, thronged to them with their 
sick, and were happy if they could get within reach of the shadow 



* I remember, that some years ago, a pious female friend of mine was passing through 
Covent Garden Market, where she saw a crowd of people gathered round a market woman 
w ho had fallen down dead. She inquired w hat was the matter with her, and was told 
that she had endeavoured to cheat a customer out of sixpence in change ; and, on being 
charged with keeping it back, she said she wished God might strike her dead if she had 
kept back the money God did strike her dead, and the money was found grasped in her 
hath ! 




child’s commentator. 1067 


only of Peter’s body, supposing that there must be some virtue 
in it, not understanding how he cured only by the power of the 
blessed Jesus. 

The Jewish rulers were now greatly enraged, that after they 
had so strongly commanded the apostles to be quiet, they still con- 
tinued preaching about Christ, and working miracles in his name; 
and they “ laid their hands on the apostles, and put* them in the 
common prison,” where they put their malefactors, as if they had 
done the very worst deeds, instead of kindly curing the sick and 
the lame. 

But God sent an angel, who opened the prison door, at night, 
and set the apostles free, desiring them to go to the temple, and 
preach again to the people. And when in the morning the San- 
hedrim assembled to bring the prisoners to trial for disobeying 
their orders, and sent for them from the prison, their officers w ere 
astonished to find that they had escaped. But while they were 
puzzling to know how this could happen, and wffiat they should 
do, they were told that the apostles were again preaching in the 
temple. So the captain of the temple and his officers w r ent and 
fetched them. On their being placed before the assembly, the 
High Priest charged them with disobeying their commands, when 
they had been told that they must say nothing more about Jesus. 
But Peter instantly replied, by preaching another bold sermon, 
charging them with being concerned in killing Jesus, and yet 
declaring that he was exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour, 
even “ to give repentance to guilty Israel, and forgiveness of sins.” 

Their hearts were, however, so hard, that instead of being con 
verted, they were only the more enraged, and put their heads 
together, to form a plan for secretly killing the apostles. But 
Gamaliel, a learned doctor of their number, having a better tem- 
per and more wisdpm than the rest, told them to let things take 
their course ; for one Theudas had raised a rebellion and perished 
in it, with four hundred of his followers; and so had one Judas 
of Galilee : and this would soon be the fate of these men, if they 
w'ere impostors ; but if they really were the messengers of God, 
and did their miracles by his power, nothing they could do could 
possibly hinder their progress. 



1068 



child’s commentator. 


This wise counsel had its effect, and so the Sanhedrim let the 
apostles go; but not till they had given them a scourging, or 
flogged them on their naked backs, with thirty-nine strokes of a 
whip, as the Jew r s were accustomed to punish offenders. All that 
now happened to the apostles, our Lord had foretold, as Matthew 
informs us in the tenth chapter of his gospel : “ But beware of 
men : for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will 
scourge you in their synagogues. And ye shall be brought before 
governors and kings for my sake.” The apostles, therefore, 
rejoiced “ that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his 
name. And daily in the temple and in every house, they ceased 
not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.” 


THE SIXTH, SEVENTH, AND EIGHTH, CHAPTERS OF THE ACTS. 

The Death of Stephen — Saul of Tarsus — Persecution of the Chris - 
tians — Simon Magus — Philip and the Eunuch. 

“ And the word of God increased ; and the number of the disci 
pies multiplied in Jerusalem greatly : and a great company of 
the priests were obedient to the faith.” — Chap. vi. 7. 

In the sixth chapter w r e are told, that the disciples chose seven 
men out of their number to take care of the poor among them, 
that they should not be overlooked ; Stephen, who was afterwards 
martyred, was among those now chosen. It is one beautiful fea- 
ture of Christianity, that it never overlooks the poor. Be kind to 
the poor, and especially the pious poor, for Christ was kind to 
them. 

The disciples of Jesus still continued to increase in numbers, 
and even many of the priests w ere at last converted. When we 
think how obstinate these had been, and what bitter enemies to 
Christ, we cannot but observe, how' great w'as his grace in saving 
them, and how powerful too in overcoming their prejudices. This 
should make us hope and pray for the most wicked and hardened; 
ibr who knows but that they may be changed ? 




child’s commentator. 1069 


Stephen was a man very “ full of faith,” and he “ did great 
wonders and miracles among the people.” Like Petei and John, 
therefore, he was dragged before the council ; and as there was no 
crime committed by him to condemn him, false witnesses were 
procured ; and wicked men, for the sake of a reward, made up a 
story against him that he had spoken blasphemous words against 
the temple and the law. Stephen was quite calm and happy ; 
“ and all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw 
his face, as it had been the face of an angel.” The good man made 
a noble reply, and boldly told them of their wickedness, and of that 
of their fathers before them. He charged them with being “ the 
betrayers and murderers” of Christ, and cut them so to the heart 
with what he said, that in their rage, they like a pack of dogs 
“ gnashed on him with their teeth.” Then thrusting him out ol 
the city, they stoned him, while he called upon God, and said, 
“ Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And while they yet stoned him, 
he kneeled and prayed for his persecutors, and then “ fell asleep.” 
“ Fell asleep !” Stephen was amidst a shower of stones, and he 
fell asleep ! Saints when they die fall asleep. When we sleep, 
we rest ; and death to them is no punishment, but only a rest. 

44 They die in Jesus and are bless’d. 

How kind their slumbers are! 

From sufferings and from sins releas’d ; 

And freed from every snare.” 

Stephen was the first Christian martyr. 

And here begins the history of the most extraordinary man 
among all the apostles. At this time he was “ a young man, 
whose name was Saul,” and who was an enemy to Jesus, and took 
care of the clothes of the false witnesses that had pulled them off, 
that they might the better stone the pious Stephen. Indeed 
he “ was consenting to his death,” which means here, that he even 
“ took pleasure” in it. “ Ana at that time there was a great per- 
secution against the Church which was at Jerusalem ; and they 
were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of J udea and 
Samaria,” fleeing wherever they could to escape the fury of their 
enemies : the apostles only remained at Jerusalem, still to bear 
witness in behalf of Jesus. Among the persecutors none wer « 







more active than this Saul ; for “ he made havoc of the church,” 
falling on them like a wild beast on his prey, “ entering into every 
house, and haling men and women,” that is, dragging them by 
force, “ committing them to prison.” He most likely did not care 
for the cry of the child, “ O spare my father !” nor for the screams 
of the infant clinging to the breast of its mother, nor for the sick 
or the aged who might plead their infirmities; his heart was 
steeled against all kindness, and inveterate against the Saviour, 
and those who loved him. 

This persecution, however, turned out for good. Instead of 
checking the progress of the religion of Jesus, it only spread it 
abroad the more; for the disciples being driven from Jerusalem, 
“ went everywhere preaching the word.” Among those that 
preached with great success, was Philip. “ Philip went down to 
the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. And the 
people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip 
spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.” “ And 
there was great joy in that city.” 

And there was a man at Samaria named Simon, whom we are 
accustomed to call Simon Magus , that is, Simon the magician or, 
conjurer; because he used cunning arts like the magicians of 
Egypt. This man “ bewitched,” or astonished, the people with 
his tricks, and they thought he was some most wonderful person. 
But when they heard the wonderful things about Jesus, which 
Philip had to tell, and saw how he cured the lame and the sick, 
and others, they would no longer believe in Simon Magus, but 
became disciples of Jesus; and Simon professed to be a disciple 
also. 

The apostles at Jerusalem being informed of the great things 
doing at Samaria, sent Peter and John to assist Philip in his work. 
And they laid their hands on some of the disciples, as a sign of im- 
ploring the Holy Spirit to give them peculiar courage and abilities, 
that they might become fellow labourers in their great work ; and 
the Holy Ghost gave them extraordinary abilities, as had been done 
to the disciples assembled on the day of Pentecost. Simon seeing 
this, and having been left out of the number, offered Peter money, 
if he would enable him to do the wonderful things which he saw 




child’s commentator. 1071 


the others could do, that is, speak in different tongues, and heal 
diseases, and the like. Here he showed that his heart was awfully 
darkened, or he must have seen that no money could purchase such 
power, and that it could only have been given from above. This 
Peter told him, and exhorted him to repent, and pray God to 
forgive him for such wicked thoughts. It is most likely that 
Simon Magus, seeing he had lost his chance of being popular, and 
of making money, by his old tricks, wished now to attain the same 
ends, by means of the gifts of speaking and healing, having no 
design to glorify Jesus by what he might say and do; and it is 
generally believed that he died a bad man, for we never read of 
his heart having been changed. 

But we have directly after a more pleasing account in the nar- 
rative of the Ethiopian eunuch. 

Philip having been ordered by an angel to take a journey on the 
road from Jerusalem to Gaza, was travelling in obedience to the 
[I divine command, when he met with a black Ethiopian eunuch, an 

& officer “ of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethio- 

J pians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to 
/ Jerusalem for to worship.” He was now returning, and was sit- 
ting reading in his chariot. Philip was inclined, by a peculiar 
impression made upon his mind by the Spirit of God, to hold con- 
versation with this eunuch; and, approaching his chariot, he 
found that he was reading aloud from the prophet Esaias, that is, 
Isaiah — the forrqer being the Greek, and the latter the Hebrew 
name for the prophet. And Philip said, “ Understandest thou 
what thou readest ?” Now the eunuch, though riding in a chariot, 
was a very humble man ; and sensible that he needed to learn all 
that he could, especially about the Saviour, he replied, “How can 
I, except some man should guide me 1 ? And he desired Philip 
that he would come up and sit with him.” And he was reading 
the prophecy about the blessed Jesus being led as a sheep to the 
slaughter, and, like a lamb dumb before his shearer — but he was 
at a loss to know whether it spoke about the prophet, or about 
some other person. Philip then explained it to him, and preached 
about Jesus. No doubt he told him, that the prophet was setting 
forth the purity, innocency, meekness, and patience of the suffering 



mm 



1072 child’s commentator. 


Jesus — “ the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the 
world — and showed him how he was led to be crucified, and so 
shed his precious blood for us, as the lamb’s blood was shed upon 
the Jewish altars. No doubt he also told him of the command 
given to the disciples, to go and teach all nations, and to baptize 
them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy 
Ghost. For, on arri ving where there was some water, he desired 
to be baptized, and declared his firm belief that Jesus was the 
Son of God, and, therefore, he was willing to become one of his 
disciples ; so Philip baptized him. Philip was now miraculously 
removed from his presence all on a sudden, a circumstance which 
must have satisfied the eunuch’s mind that he was no inferior 
person, but a messenger sent from God, to teach him the way of 
salvation. So the eunuch went on homewards, rejoicing that he 
had been favoured with such news of salvation, and had found the 
knowledge of Christ crucified. The Scripture does not tell us, but 
some respectable ancient writers do, that this eunuch founded a 
flourishing church in his own country. Those who know Christ, 
will try to make others know him also. 


THE NINTH CHAPTER OP THE ACTS. 


Remarkable Conversion of Saul of Tarsus — Peter cures Eneas of 
Palsy — Raises Dorcas to Life. 

“ Then had the churches rest throughout all Judea, and Galilee, 
and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of 
the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multi* 
plied.” — Ver. 42. 


We shall now hear more about Saul of Tarsu 3 , whose history 
has been interrupted by noticing the persecutions of the Chris- 
tians, and the labours of Philip. 

“ Not satisfied with the murder of Stephen, and with the havoc 
he made at J erusalem,” we learn here, that Saul was “ yet breathing 



ri* • 





% 






CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


1075 


out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, 
and he therefore went to the High Priest, and begged him to give 
him authority to go to Damascus, the capital city of Syria, that 
he might there search out for the Christians, and take all that he 
could tind bound to Jerusalem. 

But the grace of God stopped him, as it has many a wicked 
person, in his career. God might have struck him dead for per- 
secuting his people, as he did Ananias and Sapphira for lying ; 
but he chose to show what his Almighty grace could do in Saul of 
Tarsus, and though he struck him down, it was not to destroy, but 
only to subdue him. “ As he journeyed, he came near to Damas- 
cus : and suddenly there shined round about him a light from 
heaven : and he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto 
him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me ?” Now you must ob- 
serve that Saul did not know Jesus ; that Jesus was in heaven, 
and therefore he could not persecute him in person; but Jesus so 
loves those who love him, that in persecuting his sincere followers, 
he felt the cruelty of Saul as if it had been inflicted upon himself. 
And Saul said, “ Who art thou, Lord 'i And the Lord said, I am 
Jesus, whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against 
the pricks,” or goads, as a restless bullock would against the 
spiked stick with which his driver would urge him on with his 
work in the plough. Saul’s spirit was immediately subdued ; and 
he who had made others tremble, now trembled himself, and said, 
like a submissive servant, “ Lord, what wilt thou have me to do 
The great light which had flashed upon him from heaven, had 
blinded his eyes, and he was obliged to be led into Damascus as a 
blind person ; and there, during three days, he could neither see, 
nor eat, nor drink. The Lord, now seeing Saul humbled and 
praying for mercy, commanded a disciple of the name of Ananias 
to search him out, and to speak comfortable things to him. Ana- 
nias knew what a bitter persecutor Saul was, and was afraid to 
go near him, but the Lord told him that he was one of his chosen 
vessels ; and as men put treasure into urns, and such things, so 
he would put the treasures of his grace into the heart of Saul, 
and make him one of his most eminent ministers. So Ananias 
went to the house where Saul was, and restored him to sight as 


1076 


child’s commentator. 


5ie was commanded to do, and the Holy Ghost gave sight at the 
same time to his before darkened mind, and taught him every 
thing that could qualify him to preach Christ to sinners, and 
show them how he was a Saviour. And Saul was at the same 
time baptized as another disciple of Christ. Instead of persecu- 
ting the disciples, Saul now joined himself to them, and remained 
awhile with them at Damascus. And now “ he preached Christ 
in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.” People were every 
where surprised to see this bitter persecutor turned Christian 
preacher; and no doubt the Jews charged him with violating his 
engagement to persecute the Christians ; but he faithfully told his 
story, and being aided in a wonderful way by the Spirit of God, 
he spoke with such wisdom and power that none could withstand 
his arguments, so that he “confounded the Jews which dwelt at 
Damascus, proving that this is the very Christ,” the true Messiah. 


The Jews now tried to kill him, as he had tried to kill others, 
and they hid themselves in certain places, to put him to death by 
suddenly falling upon him ; and they watched the gates of Damas- 
cus night and day, that he might not escape. However, the dis- 
ciples, notwithstanding their vigilance, managed to get him out 
of the city ; for the house of one being built on the city wall, he 
was let down by a basket from a back window, and so got away 
from the city without passing through either of the gates. 

Saul then went to Jerusalem ; but his name was so terrifying 
there as a persecutor, that when he offered to unite with the dis- 
ciples, they were all afraid of him. They most likely supposed, 
that he only professed to be a Christian that he might the better 
come at their secrets, and so play the part of a spy, and inform 
against them, and get them to be imprisoned and put to death. 
At length Barnabas told the disciples not to fear,, and what won- 
derful things had happened to Saul, “and how he had preached 
boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.” 

At Jerusalem also, the new apostle met with the most violent 
enemies, who seemed the more enraged against him, because he 
was a deserter from their ranks. Here the Grecians, as they are 
called, or Jews, that used the Greek language, and not Greeks, 
who were heathen, “ went about to slay him,” and he found no 




child’s commentator. 1077 


rest till he went to his own city of Tarsus. After this the churches 
were allowed, for some time, to enjoy a little rest. 

We now, for a short time, leave Saul at Tarsus, and return to 
notice what Peter was doing. We are told that he paid a visit 
“ to the saints which dwelt at Lydda.” Saints mean holy persons, 
and on that account the name is very descriptive of what a Chris 
tian ought to be. You will often find Christians mentioned in 
the epistles under this title. I need then scarcely observe, that 
those persons whom you may sometimes hear using this as a nick- 
name for those who are very zealous in the service of God, and 
very strict in practising the duties of religion, are mocking the 
Scriptures while they mock the followers of Christ. And I must 
tell you, that you ought never to be ashamed, if your love to re- 
ligion makes persons of no religion to laugh at you, and call you 
by the name of Saint. It is a title of great honour w r hich they 
give to the sincere Christian, though they do not mean it. 

Lydda; where Peter went, was a city about thirty miles from 
Jerusalem. Here Peter worked another miracle in the name of 
Jesus, and cured a certain man named Eneas, which had kept his 
bed eight years, and was sick of the palsy. I wish you to observe 
one thing here, which is worthy of notice, and that is, that when 
Jesus Christ performed any miracle, he always spake as God, 
commanding evils and diseases to go away, without using the 
name of any other person ; but when Peter performed a miracle, 
he was careful to give the honour of it to the Saviour. “ Peter 
saith unto him, Eneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole; arise, 
and make thy bed. And he arose immediately.” 

We are next informed about a good woman, whose name you 
may often have heard mentioned, because her memory is held in 
great repute' on account of her being very charitable. Her name 
was Tabitha, in the Syriac language, and means a roe ; and be- 
cause a roe in the Greek is called Dorcas, that was the name 
which she bore among the Jews that spoke Greek. She lived at 
Joppa, a town now called Jaffa. This excellent woman died, and 
was laid out. Peter being then at Lydda, which w r as near Joppa, 
the disciples sent to him to tell him of their grief, and no doubt 
with a view to his restoring her to life. Peter hastened to Joppa, 




1078 child’s commentator. 


and there he found the dead body in an upper chamber, “ and all 
the widows” to whom Dorcas had been very kind and charitable, 
“stood by him weeping, and showing the coats and garments 
which Dorcas made while she was with them.” It is from this 
circumstance that we call some of our societies for giving clothes 
to the poor — Dorcas societies. 

Peter ordered every one of the widows to leave the room, that 
he might, in a more undisturbed way, kneel down and pray to 
God ; and having done so, he said to the dead body, “ Tabitha, 
arise. And she opened her eyes : and when she saw Peter, she 
sat up. And he gave her his hand, and lifted her up ; and when 
he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive.” 

These miracles caused many more to believe in Jesus; and 
Peter continued for some time at Joppa, with one Simon a tan- 
ner, no doubt busily engaged in following up these miracles, and 
conversions, by exhorting the disciples to continue firm in their 
attachment to Jesus, from which they would be liable to be 
shaken by future persecutions, which were to be expected from 
the envious Jews. 


THE TENTH AND ELEVENTH CHAPTERS OF THE ACTS. 

Cornelius’s Dream — Peter’s Vision. 

“ Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons.”— 
Chap, x, 34. 


There was a man living at Cesarea, which was the Roman 
capital of the Jewish provinces, whose name was Cornelius, and 
he was a centurion, that is, an officer commanding a nundred 
men, who were Italians, subject to the Roman Government. This 
man was very pious and charitable, and particularly fond of praying 
to God. Now while he was devoutly engaged in one of the hours of 
prayer, an angel of God spoke to him in a vision ; that is, he saw the 
angel, not in a dream by night, but in broad day ; and the angel 
said to him, “ Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a 





child’s commentator. 


1079 


memorial before God meaning, “ that the prayers which he had put 
up in faith, for himself and family,, and the charitable actions he 
had performed from a principle of love, were like sacrifices upon 
the altar, which ascended to God with acceptance.” And he de- 
sired Cornelius to send men to Simon the tanner’s house at Joppa, 
where Peter resided, and Peter would teach him about those great 
things which he was desirous of learning. So he sent two of his 
servants, and a pious soldier, to make inquiries for him at Joppa ; 
these were, no doubt, all concerned faithfully to do the business 
about which Cornelius had informed them. 

These messengers went to Joppa on the next day after the vision 
of Cornelius, and reached it at another hour of prayer used among 
the Jews, and Peter at that moment was praying, and fell into a 
trance ; that is, he lost all sense of what was doing here, and felt 
as if he were a happy spirit, departed from the body ; and he saw 
heaven opened, and a large sheet let down to earth, and spread out 
before him as a table-cloth, in which were wild beasts and creep- 
ing things, as well as tame beasts and fowls ; and a voice desired 
him to kill and eat. Peter, who had strictly observed the Jewish 
law, had never eaten any thing which it forbade and called 
unclean, and he hesitated to touch the offered food. The voice 
then said, “ What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.” 
This vision seems to have been repeated three times, to impress 
his mind the more strongly. Peter, on coming to himself, could 
not think what all this could mean ; but while he was thinking 
upon it, the messengers from Cornelius arrived at his door, and he 
was urged, by a secret impression of God’s Spirit, to meet them, 
and go with them. 

When Peter arrived at the house of Cornelius, the good man 
had assembled his relatives and friends, supposing that some 
blessing from God would attend this extraordinary meeting, and 
he wished them to enjoy it as well as himself. 

On seeing Peter, Cornelius fell at his feet “ and worshipped 
him,” or paid him reverence. He was not a foolish heathen, who 
paid him worship as if he had been a God, but he paid him very 
high respect as a servant of God, sent to instruct him. Peter, 
how ever, thought that he paid him more reverence than he ought. 


1080 child’s commentator. 

and fearing he might rob Christ of the honour which was alone due 
to him, he “took him up, saying, Stand up, I myself also am a man.” 

And now Peter saw the plain meaning of the sheet, with the 
unclean creatures, of which he was to eat. This was a sign to 
teach him, that though he was a Jew, yet he was now to unite 
with those who would believe in Christ, of all nations ; and he 
said to the company, “ Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing 
for a man that is a Jew, to keep company, or come unto one of 
another nation ; but God hath showed me that I should not call 
any man common or unclean.” 

Cornelius now told Peter for what reason he had sent for him, 
and that his little company were assembled to hear from him any 
words which God might speak through his lips. 

Peter then preached to this Gentile company the same truths 
which he had preached to the Jews, and encouraged them to be- 
lieve in Jesus as a Saviour, assuring them, that “ in every nation 
he that feareth” God, “ and worketh righteousness, is accepted 
with him;” and that whosoever believed in Jesus should receive 
remission, or enjoy the putting away of their sins, so that they 
should not be brought against them in the day of judgment. 

While this honoured apostle was preaching, the Holy Ghost also 
came upon these Gentiles, as on the Jews assembled on the day of 
Pentecost. They also were now filled with zeal for the honour of 
Christ, and could speak in tongues they had never learned, so as to 
explain to all they might meet, of any country, the great things 
about their salvation. “ They of the circumcision,” that is, the 
Jews, who were present, were astonished ; for they had no notion 
that the Gentiles would receive the Spirit, but thought that this 
blessing was to belong to the Jews only. These persons having 
received the Spirit were also baptized, to show that they were the 
disciples of Christ. 

When Peter returned to Jerusalem, the pious Jews could not 
cast away their prejudices, but insisted upon it, that Peter had 
done wrong in eating with Gentiles ; but when Peter had explained 
the vision, and what had happened at the house of Cornelius, 
“ they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God 
also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.” 


1 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


1081 


The apostles who were scattered at the time of the persecution 
of Stephen, still continued “preaching the word;” but they con 
fined their labours to the Jews only, and to the Grecians, or Jews 
which spake the Greek language, commonly called Hellenist Jews, 
which means Grecian Jews. These apostles preached at Phenice, 
Cyprus, Antioch, and elsewhere : “ and a great number believed, 
and turned unto the Lord.” And Barnabas being sent from Jeru- 
salem, paid a visit to the new disciples, at Antioch, where he was 
much delighted, for he “ saw the grace of God,” in its holy and 
happy effects, in the lives and dispositions of the people, and this 
made him “ glad and while he preached, “ much people” were 
also “added unto the Lord.” Barnabas also got Saul of Tarsus to 
help him, and they laboured together for a whole year, “and 
taught much people.” 

It was at this time that “the disciples were called Christians 
first at Antioch.” Some think that the name was given them as 
a mark of contempt; just as people who hate religion, sometimes 
call those who are religious by the name of Methodists ; and so 
at last this name was used to distinguish all who professed to em- 
brace the religion of Jesus. Many persons, now, however, bear 
the name of Christians, who know very little about Christianity, 
and are, indeed, a disgrace to it. To be really Christians, we must 
be sincerely the followers of the example of Christ. 

The eleventh chapter closes by telling us about a kind act of 
the Christians at Antioch, in sending needed comforts to their 
brethren in Judea. At this time Agabus, who was endowed 
with the spirit of prophecy, foretold that a famine would shortly 
take place all over the world, “ which came to pass in the days of 
Claudius Caesar,” a Roman emperor. The Christians at Antioch, 
which was a fine city in Syria, had some reason to believe that 
their brethren at Jerusalem would suffer much from this famine, 
and so they made no hesitation, but sent them what money they 
could spare to meet their wants, when the time of need should come. 
Christians should be kind-hearted to all, but especially to their 
fellow-Christians ; if we love Christ, we must love those thai 
are like him. 





1082 child’s commentator. 


THE TWELFTH CHAPTER OF THE ACTS. 

The Apostle Peter's Imprisonment, and miraculous Escape— 
Herod's miserable Heath. 

“ Peter therefore was kept in prison, but prayer was made without 
ceasing of the church unto God for him.” — Ver. 5. 


The Herods were all bad men. Herod the Great slew the 
infants at Bethlehem, Herod Antipas beheaded John the Baptist, 
and Herod Agrippa “ killed James, the brother of John, with the 
sword,” which was one of the modes of putting to death among 
the Jews, that was considered very disgraceful, and was especially 
inflicted on those who deceived the people. . 

\ As he saw that the wicked Jews were pleased at this murder of I 
one of our blessed Lord’s apostles, he proceeded next to persecute 
i j l Peter, and by his orders this faithful servant of Christ was thrown A 
into prison, and carefully guarded by “four quaternions of sol- jj 

diers,” that is, sixteen — a quaternion consisting of four ; and \ 

these quaternions relieved each other’s guard, and so watched 
( him by turns, night and day. It was impossible that he could 
escape but by some miracle, for his hands were chained, and when 
he slept at night, he had two soldiers lying by him, one on each 
side, and the chain on each hand was fastened to a hand of each 
soldier. 

But nothing can withstand the power of God ; and when the 
Christians met together to pray for Peter’s deliverance, God heard 
their prayers, and sent his angel to set him free. The very night 
that this happened was to have been Peter’s last night in prison ; 
for, on the next morning, Herod intended to have exposed him to 
the people, and to have put him to death, as he did James. 

When the angel appeared surrounded with brightness, which illu- 
minated the prison, he awoke Peter by touching his side, and 
raising him up, “ his chains fell from off his hands and having 
put on his girdle and his sandals, he followed the angel out of the 
prison. All this was so sudden and surprising, that Peter scarcely 




child’s commentator. 1083 

believed it was real, and thought he must be dreaming. Wher 
they had passed the first and second ward, or watch, they had to 
escape through the strongest gate of the prison, a gate made of 
iron, and through which they could enter directly into the city. 
This gate opened of its own accord, and so Peter escaped from 
the hands of his enemies. What was the state of the guards during 
this time is not said. Perhaps a deep sleep came over them, or 
their sight was darkened so much, as to be unable clearly to dis- 
tinguish objects at the moment. 

The angel having left Peter in the street, he began to recover 
from his astonishment, and comforted himself that God had really 
interposed to save him. Then, without loss of time, he hastened 
to his fellow-Christians, who were just then met together for 
prayer at the house of “ Mary, the mother of John, whose sirname 
was Mark.” Having knocked for admission, a young woman, 
named Rhoda, or Rose — for that is the meaning of Rhoda — coming 
to the gate, asked from within who was there, and on hearing 
Peter’s voice, was so overcome with joy, that she ran in and told the 
company instead of stopping to let him in. Though they were 
praying, and no doubt praying for his release, yet they could 
hardly believe that it had happened so soon, and they said to the 
young woman, 14 Thou art mad and when she assured them it 
was true that Peter was at the gate, they said, “ It is his angel 
they thought it was some heavenly messenger that had assumed 
his form, to bring them some news about him. 

As Peter continued knocking, they went and opened the door, 
and, to their astonishment, they saw Peter himself, and he then 
told them how he had escaped. 

When day-light came, Peter being missed from the prison, the 
soldiers were all in alarm ; and Herod, on being told what had 
happened, was so enraged, that he ordered the poor soldiers to be 
put to death, or executed, as we say, for their negligence. 

Herod now left Jerusalem, and went on a journey to Cesarea, a 
city about seventy-five miles from it. Here he was visited by some 
persons of importance, who were sent from the people of Tyre and 
Sidon, to reconcile him after some offence which he had taken, 
and on account of which they feared he would make w r ar against 




1084 child’s commentator. 


them. This would have been ruin to them, for they lived by 
merchandize, which they could not then so extensively sell ; and as 
they were not accustomed to the labours of the field, they were 
also “ nourished by the king’s country that is, received their 
food from it, especially their corn. Herod appointed a day to 
receive the supplicants, as he sat on his throne, and being very 
splendidly dressed with robes, which Josephus, the Jewish histo- 
rian, says were richly worked with silver, that sparkled brilliantly 
in the sun, he delivered a speech to the ambassadors of Tyre and 
Sidon, in the presence of a great multitude of people. Perhaps, 
in his pride, he told them how kind and god-like he was to hear 
them, and that they should highly value his mercy, that he did 
not put them all to death for displeasing him, and destroy their 
flourishing cities. The foolish people, in order to compliment the 
king, cried out, “ It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.” The 
more foolish king was delighted with this praise, and instead of 
reproving them for their blasphemy, in so extolling a poor dying 
mortal like themselves, he silently heard and rejoiced in their flat- 
tery. But God can punish kings that offend him, as well as poor 
men ; and while this impious king was setting himself up for a 
god, an angel secretly smote him, “because he gave not God the 
glory,” in reproving the profane people, “ and he was eaten of 
worms,” and died. The Scripture writers give us no further par- 
ticulars, but Josephus, the Jewish historian, tells us, that he had 
great pains in his bowels, and died in five days. 


THE THIRTEENTH AND FOURTEENTH CHAPTERS OF THE ACTS. 

The Travels , and Sufferings, and Success of Paul and Barnabas 
— Paul cures a Lame Man at Lystra — Paul and Barnabas 
mistaken by the Heathen for Gods — Paul nearly killed at Lystra 
by stoning. 

“ And there they preached the gospel.” — Chap. xiv. 7. 


In this chapter we find Barnabas and Saul travelling about 
together to preach the gospel. They went to Seleucia, a city of 









LYMAS STRUCK BLIND. ^E DEATH OF ANANIAS. 












child’s commentator. 1087 

Syria, and thence “they sailed to Cyprus,” an island in the Med- 
iterranean Sea. There they visited Salamis, a chief city of Cyprus ; 
and thence they proceeded to Paphos, on the same island. At 
Paphos there was a sorcerer, whose Jewish name was Bar-jesus, 
and who was also called Elymas. This man was in favour with 
Sergius Paul us, the deputy of the country, or governor of the 
island, and perhaps lived with him. When he found that Saul and 
his companion were preaching the gospel, he “ withstood them, 
seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith,” so that he might 
not believe the truth which Saul and Barnabas preached, for he 
knew it would ruin his art. Then Saul, being aided by a divine 
power, given him by the Holy Ghost, boldly declared that he 
was a wicked man, and a deceiver, and foretold that God Al- 
mighty would strike him blind for a season, as a punishment for 
his wickedness ; and immediately he became blind. This proved 
that Saul was divinely inspired to teach what he said, and that 
Elymas was very wicked in opposing him ; and Sergius Paulus 
was so convinced, that he became a real Christian. 

We are here told, that Saul was also called Paul. It was com- i-j 
mon to have two names of these kinds ; for Saul was the Hebrew 1 
name by which this apostle was known among the Jews, but J| 
Paul was his Roman name. if 

From Paphos they next “ came to Perga, in Pamphylia,” a 
country in Asia, of which Perga was the chief city ; and from 
Perga “ they came to Antioch in Pisidia,” so called to distinguish 
it from Antioch in Syria. Here they went into the synagogue 
on the Sabbath-day, and were invited by the rulers to speak ; and 
Paul preached a sermon to the people, the design of which was 
to show that Jesus was the Messiah, the anointed one of God, for 
whom the Jews had long looked ; that he was of the seed of Da- 
vid, as foretold by the prophets ; that though he had died, he had 
also risen again, and that now they were come to preach salva- 
tion in his name. 

The people were so struck with this sermon, that they wanted 
to have another on the next Sabbath ; but the rulers would not 
allow of it, for they were jealous, because the preacher had 
attracted so much attention. Then Paul and Barnabas told them 



1088 


child’s commentator. 


that since they had refused to hear any more about Christ, they 
should carry the glad tidings to the Gentiles, or heathen, which 
the heathen, at Antioch, were glad to learn ; and many of them 
heard the holy preachers and believed. 

The Jew r s then raised a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, 
and got some women, who had gained fame as devout women, 
from their attention to the laws of their religion, and who were 
also of rich families, to help them in driving these servants of 
Christ out of the city. So they shook the dust off their feet as 
Christ had told them to do, if their message was not received in 
any place, as a sign of displeasure against it, and they “ came unto 
Iconium,” another place, on the borders of the country. 

At Iconium they again went into the Jews’ synagogue, and “a 
great multitude,” both of the Jews and also of the Greeks, be- 
lieved their divine message. Here, however, the unbelieving Jew's 
stirred up much opposition against them, and prejudiced the 
minds of the Gentiles : nevertheless, they continued preaching for 
some time in spite of their enemies, and “ the Lord gave testi- 
mony to,” or witnessed, or declared what they said to be “ the 
word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by 
their hands ;” that is, they healed the sick, and cured the lame, 
and did other such works; which showed that God was with 
them in their labours, for these were things which no other men 
could do, and which could only be done by his especially giving 
them power. 

The Jews and Greeks were now greatly divided among them- 
selves ; some of them believed, and some of them did not believe, 
notwithstanding all the divine proofs of the heavenly message ; 
and as parties rose very high, and it was determined by some 
that they would even stone Paul and Barnabas, they left the 
place, that they might carry the gospel elsewhere, where the 
hearts of many more would be ready to receive it. 

They now “ fled unto Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia,” 
in Lesser Asia, “ and there they preached the gospel.” 

Here a man, who was born a cripple, was sitting to hear a dis- 
course, when the apostle Paul, perceiving that he had faith in the 
truth of his message, addressed him before all the people, and 



child’s commentator. 1089 


“said, with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet; and he leap* 
ed and walked.” 

The heathen people were so astonished and delighted, that they 
said, “ The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men.” 
They thought there were many gods, and that these were two of 
them. They knew no better, not having the Scriptures ; and 
they took Barnabas for Jupiter, one of their gods, and Paul for 
Mercury, another of them ; and, according to their custom of 
worshipping and honouring their deities, the priest of Jupiter, 
which was before their city, brought oxen and garlands unto the 
gates, and would have done sacrifice with the people, that is, have 
sacrificed the oxen to Paul and Barnabas ; but the apostles rent 
their clothes, as the Jews did when they heard blasphemy, and 
showed what horror they felt, that the people should make such 
a mistake. They then declared they were only men, and exhort- 
ed them to cast off their false gods, and believe in “ the living 
God, which made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all things 
that are therein.” The people were, however, even then, with 
difficulty prevented from worshipping the apostles. Yet notwith- 
standing this servile adoration of them, when, soon after, some 
Jews arrived in the city from Antioch and Iconium, who told 
them how the apostles had been driven from those places, and 
spoke against them — these same people, who had seen the miracle 
performed on the lame man, and would then have adored the 
apostles, now were persuaded to stone Paul — so fickle were they ; 
and they hurt him so much that he appeared to be dead, and his 
body was dragged by them out of the city. He must have been 
dreadfully injured by this treatment; but God left the people 
withoub-excuse for future punishment, in thus treating his servant, 
and tried the boldness of Paul in his cause ; and when he was 
left for dead, he wonderfully restored him, so that he was imme 
diately able to pursue his journey to another place ; “ and the 
next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe,” a city of Lyca- 
onia, as mentioned in the sixth verse, and there they made many 
disciples; and then they revisited Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, 
to instruct, comfort, and establish the minds of those that had be- 
lieved, that they might not be frightened at their persecutions. 




1090 child’s commentator. 

Here the Christians now formed themselves into churches, con 
gregations of faithful men ; and the apostles having taught them 
and prayed with them, set them in order, and appointed proper 
persons from among them to manage the worship of God, and 
for other Christian purposes. 

Then they passed through Pisidia, the country where Antioch 
was, and came to Pamphylia, in Asia, and preached at Perga, in 
that country, and thence went into Attalia, a sea-coast town on 
the borders of the Mediterranean Sea. Then they took shipping 
and sailed to the other Antioch, which was in Syria, and delight- 
ed the Christians there, by telling them of their travels, and of 
the great success which, notwithstanding all opposition, had at- 
tended their preaching of the gospel of Christ — “ And there they 
abode a long time with the disciples.” 


THE FIFTEENTH AND SIXTEENTH CHAPTERS OF THE ACTS. 

i Disputes among the Christians at Jerusalem , settled by the Apostles 
v — Paul and Barnabas separated — Paul takes with him young 

Timothy from Lystra — Further Travels — PauVs Vision in the 
night , in consequence of which he goes into Macedonia — Conver- 
sion of Lydia — Paul cast out an evil Spirit from a Girl at 
Philippi — He and Silas are scourged and thrown in to Prison — 
Earthquake , and Conversion of the Jailor and his Family — 
Paul and Silas set at liberty. 

“ And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the 
churches.” — Chap. xv. 41. 


While Paul and Barnabas were at Antioch, in Syria, some per* 
sons from Jerusalem came to Antioch, and raised a dispute. These 
were J ews who had become Christians, but were still much attached 
to some of their old rites, or religious customs ; and among the 
rest, they taught that it was necessary to be circumcised, or have 
a portion of flesh cut off, after the manner of the Jews, as a token 
that they put off the works of the flesh. They even went so far a* 



PAUL PASTING FROM THE DISCIPLES. 










CITY OP ICONIUM. 









i 



to say to the Gentile converts, that without circumcision none could 
be saved. Paul and Barnabas, therefore, went to Jerusalem, to 
show the young Christians there the folly of this dispute ; and 
passing through Phenice and Samaria on their way, they visited 
their fellow Christians there, and cheered their hearts by telling 
them, how many persons in all parts were truly believing in Jesus 
Christ, the Saviour of sinners. When they arrived at Jerusalem, 
Peter, and Paul, and Barnabas, and James, delivered their opinions 
to the Christians that met together to settle the question, and it 
was determined that circumcision did not form a part of the reli- 
gion of Christ, and therefore was not to be practised by the Gen- 
tile converts ; and a deputation was sent off to Antioch, with a 
letter to tell the Gentile converts there what their fellow-Chris- 
tians had agreed upon at Jerusalem, after being addressed by the 
inspired apostles ; only, as there were some customs among the 
Gentiles which they had practised in their heathen rites, it was 
very proper that they should leave these off, on becoming Chris- 
tians. They should not eat of any food which had been sacrificed 
to idols ; for though the food was in itself none the worse for that, 
yet it would have the appearance of their still approving of idol 
worship : they must avoid all indecent conduct practised by the 
heathen ; and it was advisable not to eat things made of blood 
or strangled ; for, as this would disgust the converted Jews, 
who abominated such food, it was as well to avoid offending them 
in so small a matter, and prevent that intercourse which was de- 
sirable among all, the Christian converts. 

This affair being quietly settled without disturbing the love 
which existed among the Christians, Judas (not Judas Iscariot, 
for he was dead), and Silas, two of those who were sent, stayed 
a short time with the Christian brethren at Antioch, and instruct- 
ed them in the truths of the gospel ; and Paul and Barnabas, 
who had returned with them, continued preaching the word. 

Paul and Barnabas now resolved on revisiting all the places 
where they had preached the gospel ; and Barnabas wished John, 
whose surname was Mark, to accompany them ; but he, having 
been their companion on a former occasion, and left them to bear 
their labours and dangers alone, in a manner that did not quite 




1094 child’s commentator. 


please Paul, who perhaps thought him timid, or not sufficiently 
zealous, Paul did not wish to have his help. This caused a mis 
understanding between Paul and Barnabas, and so they parted 
company. Barnabas, taking Mark with him, sailed to Cyprus, 
an island in the Mediterranean Sea, and, as we learn in the latter 
part of the fourth chapter, the native place of Barnabas. Paul, 
accompanied by Silas, took another route, and went through Syria 
and Cilicia, which was his native country, and visited the churches 
or assemblies of Christians, whom he had before brought, through 
his preaching, to receive the religion of Christ. 


Among the places visited again by the apostle Paul, were 
Derbe and Lystra. At the latter place he found a young disciple 
named Timotheus, or Timothy, the same to whom he afterwards 
wrote the Epistles. The mother of this young man was a Jewess, 
If but his father was a Greek ; and so it happened that he was not 

^ circumcised. Now, as Paul wished to have his aid as a fellow- 

isji labourer, seeing that he was a youth of fine talent and spirit, 
but as the Jews would not have allowed him to speak in the syna- 
gogues, unless he had been circumcised, Paul therefore “ took 
and circumcised him, because of the Jews which were in those 
quarters who, knowing that his father was a Greek, and there- 
fore had not had the rite performed upon him, would have raised 
objections to his preaching. 

And now they travelled throughout Phrygia in Asia, and the 
region or country of Galatia, in that part called Asia Minor ; then 
they came to Mysia, another country in Asia Minor, and “ as- 
sayed,” or attempted, to go into Bithynia, another country also 
in Asia Minor, but were prevented, by a particular impression 
made on their minds by the Spirit of God. Perhaps had they 
gone, their lives would have been taken, and these God designed 
to spare for future labours. He could, indeed, have protected them 
anywhere, but he chose rather that they should refrain from thrust- 
ing themselves, at this time, into such danger. Or, it might be 
that having particular work for them elsewhere, he prevented 
them from choosing a different road. So they did not stop at 



child’s commentator. 1095 

Mysia ; but “ came down to Tfoas,” then a colony of the Romans, 
now called Alexandria. 

Being prompted by the Spirit of God in a vision, or sort of 
trance, which happened in the night, and in which a man of Ma- 
cedonia appeared before Paul, and said, “ Come over unto Mace- 
donia and help us,” Paul proceeded to that place, which was a very 
large country in Europe. He loosed, or set sail, from Troas, and 
reached Samothracia, an island in the Archipelago, and the next 
day Neapolis, a sea-port, which was a part ofMacedonia. From 
thence he went on to Philippi, the chief city of that part of Ma- 
cedonia, and stopped there some days. Here, on the Sabbath 
day, they visited one of the spots where the Jews worshipped, 
and “ spake to the women which resorted thither.” 

Among these women was one named Lydia. She was a seller 
of purple — most likely of purple dye, which was a valuable article 
at that time — and she belonged to a place called Thyatira, which 
was a flourishing city of Asia Minor. She was a worship 
per of the one true God; but knew nothing of Jesus Christ 
But now she heard him preached, the Lord opened her heart, like 
a door, to let him into it by faith ; and she received Jesus there, 
and embraced all the important truths spoken about him by Paul. 
And she was baptized, and received the sacred messengers into her 
house, while they remained in that neighbourhood. 

The apostles regularly went to a place used for prayer ; and a 
girl, who knew their custom, followed them, as they went every 
day, and cried after them, “ These men are the servants of the Most 
High God, which show unto us the way of salvation.” This girl 
was one of a certain class of people of those days, who pretended 
to be divinely inspired, and who might possibly have been permit- 
ted to perform some astonishing things, by the aid of the devil, 
who seems to have had full possession of her mind. By her works 
of magic she gained much money. It seems that she was not free, 
but belonged to masters who received what she gained. Paul, per- 
ceiving what kind of a person she was, was grieved at her condi- 
tion, and, in the name of Jesus Christ, he commanded the evil 
spirit to come out of her. “ And he came out the same hour.” 

It is wonderful that this girl should have cried out in such 

40 



n 


1096 child’s commentator. 

terms of praise of the apostles; but perhaps it was an instance, to 
show us, that the most wicked spirit may be overcome by the 
power of the Spirit of God ; and therefore she was obliged to 
speak in praise of the servants of God, whom she would perhaps 
otherwise have abused and ill-treated. 

Her masters were greatly enraged that they had now lost their 
gains, for the girl could serve the devil no longer. They there- 
fore seized Paul and Silas, and carried them before the magistrates, 
accusing them of teaching doctrines and customs contrary to the 
laws. Then the magistrates had them stripped,, by tearing off their 
clothes ; and commanded them to be beaten with rods, after which 
they were cast into prison, and the jailor had orders to take the 
greatest care that they should not escape. So he thrust them 
“ into the innermost prison” — one that, lying beyond others, and 
having more bolts and bars, was the more secure. And still to 
add to their security, he put their feet fast into heavy wood stocks, 
and thus they lay, as it is supposed, in the most painful position, 
with their sore and naked backs stretched upon the cold and dirty 
ground — the prisoners not sitting as in England, when the 
stocks are used. 

In this situation, which would have made most men groan and 
weep, Paul and Silas, being comforted in their minds in an extra- 
ordinary way, sang praises to God in the middle of the night: it 
is thought that they sang one of David’s Psalms, which is not 
unlikely. “ And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that 
the foundations of the prison were shaken : and immediately all 
the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.” The 
keeper awoke with the noise, and seeing the doors open, and the 
prisoners free, he drew his sword, and would have killed himself, 
fearing that he should be dreadfully punished for their escape. 
But Paul cried out to him, “ Do thyself no harm ; for we are all 
here.” Then he called for plenty of lights, and “ came trembling,” 
and, according to the Eastern custom of showing respect, fell down 
before Paul and Silas, and bringing them out of the inner prison, 
he began to talk to them directly about his poor soul, and asked, 
“ What must I do to be saved 1 ” The apostles told him to “ Be- 
lieve on the Lord Jesus Christ;” and they also preached to his 






child’s commentator. 


1097 


whole family. Then the jailor washed their stripes, which had 
perhaps begun to fester, and showed them every kindness. They 
had done good to his soul, and to the souls of his family, as well 
as saved his body, when he was about to destroy himself ; and the 
least he could do for them, was to show them kindness by comfort- 
ing their bodies. The people’s hearts were all ready to receive the 
gospel from their lips ; and having renounced their idolatries, 
they declared their readiness to become Christians, and were all 
of them baptized. Then the jailor took his prisoners into his 
house, and set meat before them, to refresh their wearied bodies, 
and they all rejoiced together. 

In the morning, the magistrates thought that Paul and Silas 
had had punishment enough, and so sent orders for them to be ; 
released. But Paul, being a Roman citizen, now maintained his 
privilege; teaching us, that Christianity is not at all opposed to 
k: our claiming and defending our civil rights ; that is, those which 

belong to us as men and citizens. “ They have beaten us openly 
ik uncondemned,” said he, “ being Romans, and have cast us into 

; 4 prison ; and now do they thrust us out privily 1 Nay, verily ; 

I but let them come themselves and fetch us out.” The magistrates 
I had taken upon themselves to do what they were not authorized 
to do ; for the magistrates were not to try prisoners, but only to 
see that the lawless were seized and secured, and that the law was 
properly put into execution when the prisoners were condemned. 
Paul, therefore, on account of others, as well as on his own 
account, would not sanction such shameful proceedings ; he did 
not, however, demand revenge upon them, though he might have 
got them severely punished for what they had so unjustly done, 
but he required that they should acknowledge themselves 
wrong, and with all respect, make amends to them by fetching 
them° out. So the magistrates, being now greatly frightened, 
went to the prison, and begged Paul and Silas to forgive them, 
and that they would leave the city as soon as possible, that 
nothing more might be said about the matter. 

When they had quitted the prison, they paid another visit tc 
their kind hostess, Lydia, and then pursued their journey. 




1098 


CHILD 8 COMMENTATOR. 


THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH CHAPTERS OF THE ACTS. 

Paul preaches at Thessalonica , and is persecuted there — Goes to 
Berea , and is very successful — Visits Athens , and preaches at 
Mars' Hill — Visits Corinth , where he meets with Aquila and 
Priscilla — Resides there some time , where he is opposed by the 
Jews , but protected by Gallio , the chief Magistrate — Goes into 
Syria — Visits Ephesus — Lands at Cesarea . , returns to Antioch , 
and travels through Galatia and Phrygia — Apollos preaches at 
Ephesus . 

“ And he [Paul] reasoned in the synagogues every Sabbath.” — 
Chap, xviii. 4. 


Paul and Silas, having passed through Araphipolis and Apol- 
lonia, both considerable cities in Macedonia, “ came to Thessa- 
lonica, a free city of the same country ,” where the Roman governor 
resided. Here there “ was a synagogue of the Jews,” and, during 
three successive Sabbaths, Paul went in and reasoned with them 
about what the Scriptures said of the Messiah, and proved that 
Jesus was he. His facts and arguments were so forcible, that, 
accompanied by the power of the Spirit of God, many Jews, and 
Gentiles who had become Jews, were converted. 

This enraged the unbelieving part of the Jews; and so, sup* 
posing Paul to be at the house of Jason — one of their number 
who through Paul had believed on Christ — they violently 
beset his house, and dragged him out, with others, to the rulers of 
the city, and charged them with turning the world upside down, 
or throwing every place which they visited into confusion by 
their doctrines. The magistrates, however, acted on this occasion 
with great propriety, and as these Christians were accused of being 
troublers, they only required pledges of them that they would not 
in future disturb the peace of the city, but did not attempt to 
punish them, where they could not see they had committed any 
crime. 







child’s commentator. 


1099 


Paul and Silas having left the city quietly during the night, 
proceeded next to Berea, another city in Macedonia, and there 
also they “went into the synagogue of the Jews.” Here the 
gospel was readily received by the people, who heard Paul and 
Silas with attention, and then examined the Scriptures for them- 
selves, to see if what was said about the Messiah agreed with 
the character of Jesus Christ; and so, many of them became 
true Christians. 

The Jews of Thessalonica, hearing of their success, followed 
them to that place, and stirred up the unthinking part of the 
people to disturb the apostles. 

The apostle Paul was therefore sent out of the way, because 
against him the bitterest enmity prevailed ; and Silas and Timo- 
theus remained behind, to explain things further to the young 
converts, who would have many questions to ask about what 
Jesus Christ taught and did. 

Paul next went to Athens, a city in Greece, exceedingly famous 
for its knowledge and learning. When he arrived there his spirit 
was grieved and provoked, to see the stupidity of the people, not- 
withstanding all their knowledge, for the city was full of idols : 
it had more images called gods than all the rest of Greece, so that 
one humorously said of it, it was easier to find a god there than 
a man. Here Paul, according to his custom, disputed with the 
Jews in their synagogue, and with “ the devout persons,” or Jewish 
proselytes, who had left heathenism and embraced Judaism ; and 
he also took every opportunity of conversing about Christ with 
the Athenians, whom he met in the great market-place. 

In this city he was violently opposed by the heathen philoso- 
phers, called Epicureans and Stoics. 

The Epicureans were so called from their first teacher, Epicurus. 
Though they believed there was a God, they were foolish enough 
to believe that the world was made by chance, and that no Pro- 
vidence ruled over it. See how ignorant the wisest of men were 
without the Scriptures. We should now hardly suppose that any 
one in his senses, on surveying the heavens and the earth, and the 
curious forms of all the creatures by which it is inhabited, could 
suppose that all these came by chance ; or, when he thinks on the 




11(50 child’s commentator. 

preservation of order in the world, the bounding of the ocean, the 
succession of day and night, of spring and autumn, of summer and 
winter — of human life in myriads of beings, and of the world in 
general — we must pity his intellect, if he can deny the overruling 
Providence of God. Yet there are even now some persons who are 
accounted wise, and are so foolish ; these are living proofs that 
what the Scriptures say of these men is true— “The world by 
wisdom knew not God.” The Stoics received their name, not 
from their founder, whose name was Zeno, but from a Greek word, 
Stoa, which signifies a portico, or piazza, because it was cus- 
tomary for Zeno to walk under a portico, and teach his scholars. 
He was wiser than the Epicureans, since he believed that God did 
make the world ; but he, like them, denied that he cared anything 
about it after it was made ; and so, instead of being ruled by his 
Providence, it was left to Fate. 

; These were the men with whom Paul had here chiefly to con- 

S tend. They were, however, disposed to hear him; for, though 
they despised him, and called him a babbler, yet, as he brought 
• & with him doctrines new to them — and they were fond of “some 
?j new thing” — they thought, at least, that they should be amused. 

There was at Athens a noted edifice called the Areopagns, 
I which means the Hill of Mars. This building was used as a court 
of law, and was adapted to accommodate a large concourse of 
people. Here it was determined that Paul should publish his 
opinions. It was a fine opportunity, and he embraced it. 

He told them that he had observed that they were very super- 
stitious, or given to the worship of many and false gods ; and that 
in passing through their streets, he had even seen an inscription 
— “ To the unknown God”— which perhaps meant the God of 
the Jews, of whom they had heard, but did not know. Now, he 
came to tell them who he was, and that instead of the world being 
made by chance, as some among them believed, He it was who 
made all things, and all men ; and whose providence, so far from 
not noticing the world he made, even notices every individual, and 
fixes the boundaries of every man’s life, and the very spot where 
he shall reside. And as we spring from God, our spirits being 
breathed into us by his Spirit, nothing could be more absurd 


child’s commentator. 


1101 


than to imagine, that stone, carved into different images, should 
represent God, many of them being even unworthy to represent 
men, whom God has made. For a long while God had borne 
with this idolatry, but now Paul declared he had sent his apostles 
to bear witness against it, and called upon men everywhere to 
repent, for he has determined to judge the world, and Christ will 
be the judge, who is now risen from the dead. 

On mentioning the subjectof the resurrection, the whole assembly 
seem to have been in a tumult. It was a doctrine either disbelieved, 
or rarely thought of by the Grecian philosophers. “ Some mocked ; 
and others said, W e will hear thee again of this matter.” So as they 
were not disposed to hear any more at that time, and received his 
message so unfavourably, Paul left them. Yet his address was 
not altogether useless: “ Ho wbeit, certain men clave unto him, 
and believed ; among the which was Dionysius, the Areopagite,” 
or a judge in the court of Areopagus : “ and a woman named 
Damaris, and others with them.” 


Paul next proceeded to Corinth, another Grecian city, of con- 
siderable importance. Here he took up his abode with a Jew 
named Aquila, and his wife Priscilla, who had lately left Rome in 
consequence of a decree of the Emperor, that no Jews should 
remain there any longer. From what is reported by historians, 
it is supposed that this decree was made because the Jews were 
so violent in opposing the Christians, that they caused continual 
disturbances. It appears that Paul und Aquila were of the same 
craft or trade, tent-makers, and this was one reason which brought 
them together. It was no disgrace among the Jews to be of a 
trade, but rather a disgrace to be without, and therefore every 
one was brought up to a trade, that he might never want the 
means of procuring his livelihood; and so the apostle Paul, 
though a learned man, and brought up at the feet of the learned 
Gamaliel, that is, as his pupil, was nevertheless taught the craft 
of tent-making. Tents, in hot countries, are very common and 
useful, and it was by this trade that the apostle supported himself 
while preaching the gospel. 

While at Corinth, Paul, as usual, visited and “reasoned in the 



1102 


child’s commentator. 


synagogue every Sabbath and here he was joined by Silas and 
Timotheus. 

The Jews having refused to hear what he had to say about 
Christ, Paul “shook his raiment,” it being loose about him, as a 
sign that he would shake them off, and have no more to do with 
them, and went to the Gentiles, who were in the city. For this 
purpose he took up his abode at the house of a man named Justus, 
who, though not a Jew, was a sincere man, and worshipped the 
true God, having learned about him from t^he Jews, his house 
being near the synagogue. His labours were, however, not alto- 
gether useless among the Jews, for “ Crispus, the ruler of the 
synagogue, believed on the Lord, with all his house :” many 
Corinthians also believed. 

Paul was, indeed, particularly encouraged in his labours at 
Corinth, for God told him, in a vision, “ I have much people in 
\ this city.” “ And he continued there a year and six months, 
teaching the word of God among them.” 

The success of Paul excited the enmity of the Jews, whose rage 
against Christ was as bitter as it still is. They therefore rose up 
against Paul, and accused him before Gallio, the Roman officer, 
who at that time presided over Achaia, in which the conquered 
province of Corinth was. Gallio saw their wicked rage, and told 
them, that if Paul had done any bad thing he would have taken 
notice «^>f it, but as they accused him only about religious matters, 
he had nothing to do with such disputes, and so he drove the 
Jews away from his presence. The Greeks, seeing how he treated 
the Jews, and knowing that they were not now in high favour, 
immediately fell upon Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, 
and beat him severely ; so that the harm they wanted to do to 
Paul now fell upon themselves; “and Gallio cared for none of 
these things,” but looked on with total indifference. 

Paul’s next journey was into Syria, and he took with him 
Priscilla and Aquila. Then he came to Ephesus, the metropolis 
of Asia, where he still reasoned with the Jews, by entering into 
their synagogue. 

Having left Ephesus, he landed at Cesarea, and visited the 
Christian church there. Thence he went to Antioch, “ and after 


THESSAEONICA 















CITY OF ANTIOCH. 







child’s commentator. 


1105 

he had spent some time there, he departed, and went over all the 
country of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the 
disciples.” 

W hile Paul was engaged elsewhere, Apollos visited Ephesus. 
This was a most el >quent Jew, who had been taught about Christ, 
by John the Baptist. Here he preached boldly, urging men, no 
doubt, to repentance and faith in the Messiah. But Aquila and 
Priscilla having been instructed by the apostle Paul, knew more 
than he did, and they therefore assisted in showing him “ the 
way of God more perfectly,” and about Christ as the Saviour of 
sinners. 

After this, Apollos visited different parts of Achaia, and 
strengthened the minds of those who believed in Christ, and “ he 
mightily convinced the Jews, and that publicly, that Jesus was 
the Christ.” 


THE NINETEENTH CHAPTER OF THE ACTS. 

PauVs extensive Travels to 'preach the Gospel — He works extra 
ordinary Miracles at Ephesus — The seven Sons of Sceva, a Jew , 
being Exorcists , try to imitate him , and fail — Great Success of 
the Gospel at Ephesus — Account of Ephesus and its Temple — 
Tumult at Ephesus. 

“ So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.” — Verse 20. 

In the last chapter we learnt that Apollos visited different 
parts of Achaia, and here we are informed that he also paid a visit 
to Corinth, which was the capital of Achaia. During this time 
Paul u passed through the upper coasts,” or countries, to the 
north of Ephesus, called Phrygia, Galatia, Pontus, Bithynia, 
Lydia, Lycaonia, and Paphlagonia, and then again to Ephesus. 
He here instructed some of John the Baptist’s disciples, and 
baptized them “in the name of the Lord Jesus;” and he “spake 
boldly” in the synagogue “ for the space of three months con- 



1106 


CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


cerriing the kingdom of God,” that is, the reign of Christ, the 
Messiah. 

However, at length he gave over instructing the Jews in the 
place, since their hearts were so much hardened against Christ ; 
and “ one Tyrannus” having a school of public instruction and 
disputation, he went there and taught his disciples about the way 
of salvation, and in this manner he passed two years. Ephesus 
being a place of great importance, and numbers of persons, both 
Jews and Greeks, visiting it for purposes of trade and informa- 
tion, the doctrines of the apostle were heard by most of these, 
and so conveyed abroad, and spread in all the cities and towns 
in Asia. 

These doctrines received a divine sanction from the miracles 
which God enabled the apostle to perform as a proof that he was 
especially commissioned from heaven to preach to the people ; so 
that “ from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or 
aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits 
went out of them.” There could be no virtue in these “ handker- 
chiefs or aprons” which had been used by the apostle, but God 
was pleased to make them the means by which miracles should 
be performed for the establishing of his truth, and for the honour- 
ing of his faithful servant. 

Seeing the wonderful things done by the apostle, “ some vaga- 
bond Jews,” who strolled about from place to place, like our va- 
gabond mountebanks, to gain a livelihood by their tricks, and 
who were “ exorcists,” or a sort of conjurors, tried to do the like 
things in a similar way. Among these were seven sons of a Jew, 
and a"“ chief among the priests” at Ephesus ; and they attempted 
to cast out evil spirits from those who were tormented with them, 
and said, “We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.” 
They, however, were soon proved to be impostors, to their injury 
and shame, and to the honour of the apostle, and advancement of 
the cause of Christ. The evil spirits, which were obliged to obey 
the voice of the apostle, being compelled to it by the power of 
J esus Christ, would not submit to these impostors ; and one of 
them said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know ; but who are ye?” 
This spirit knew that Jesus was the Son of God, who could 




child’s commentator. 1107 

overcome him, and that Paul was his servant, and could do any 
thing he commanded ; but these men were not his servants, and 
why, then, should they dare to turn out a spirit which had taken 
possession of any man? Enraged at their audacity, the man in 
whom the evil spirit was, being instigated so to do, rushed upon 
these men, and, though there were seven of them, they were not 
strong enough to contend with him, and so were driven out of the 
house where they were, with their clothes torn off their backs, 
and themselves bruised and cut with his blows. 

This affair was soon spread over the city of Ephesus, and pro- 
duced a great change in many persons, both among the Jews and 
Greeks. Indeed, “ many of them which used curious arts brought 
their books together, and burned them before all men ; and they 
counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of 
silver.” This was a glorious triumph over Satan in his own 
territories, for Ephesus was a very wicked and idolatrous city, 
where magic was taught, and it was a deadly blow to the 
wicked arl when the books were destroyed by which the people 
had learned how to perform it. The price of the books now 
burned has been reckoned, at the lowest rate, at seven thousand 
eight hundred and twelve dollars of our money ; but some think 
it was not less than thirty-one thousand two hundred and fifty 
dollars. Books were extremely dear before the art of printing 
was invented, and books on curious arts would be dearer than 
others. 

The apostle Paul now began to think about visiting some other 
parts, and having decided to go through Macedonia and Achaia, 
and thence to Jerusalem, and then to Rome, he sent forward 
Timotheus, or Timothy, to whom he wrote two epistles, and 
Erastus, who was chamberlain of the city of Corinth, as we learn 
in the sixteenth chapter of the Romans ; and so these gave 
notice of his visit, and collected the Christians to receive him. 
While the apostle was about to leave Ephesus, there was, how- 
ever, “ no small stir” about the religion of Jesus ; for the makers 
of images, which the idolatrous people called gods, having lost 
much of their custom, endeavoured to excite .a tumult, and to 
drive him out of the city. 


ul/e 


1108 


child’s commentator. 


Before we notice this affair, it may be necessary just to give 
you a short account of this famous city of Ephesus, and of its 
celebrated temple. 

I have before said that Ephesus was the metropolis of Asia, and, 
indeed, it was the most famous place of trade in all Asia Minor. 
The ancient city stood about fifty miles south of Smyrna. It has 
long gone to decay, like many other once splendid cities of the 
East. The chief ornament of this city was the Temple of Diana, 
to erect which all the states in Asia were made to contribute a 
portion of their wealth. This temple was reckoned one of the 
wonders of the world. It was nearly as long as St. Paul’s Cathe- 
dral in London, and nearly as wide as St. Paul’s at its greatest 
breadth. It was supported by one hundred and twenty-seven 
marble pillars, seventy feet high, or twelve times the height of our 
tallest men, and these were either most curiously carved or highly 
polished. From accounts given by ancient writers, this temple 
was two hundred and twenty years in building, and w^s continu- 
ally improved for four hundred years. The imaginary goddess, 
Diana, was represented by a small statue made of ebony — a hard, 
black, and valuable wood — and the people were weak enough to 
believe that this piece of carved wood was sent down to them from 
heaven by Jupiter, a name by which they distinguished one of 
the heathen gods, and whom they supposed to be the father of 
Diana. To this statue, therefore, they paid a great deal of reve- 
rence. It had been formerly placed in the trunk of an old elm, 
but, from the honours paid to it, it was at length provided with 
this magnificent building. All the inhabitants of Ionia went 
every year to Ephesus to solemnize a festival to “ the great god- 
dess Diana,” and wives and children carried their offerings to her 
temple, many of which were exceedingly rich and valuable. 
Priests who officiated on this occasion were liberally supported by 
the people ; and the citizens, no doubt, made much money by the 
gathering together of so large a number of people, many of whom 
were wealthy, and who remained during the continuance of the 
sports which accompanied their offerings. But this temple was 
destroyed in a very singular manner. Though, on account of its 
beauty and splendour, the great conqueror, Xerxes, had spared it, 



child’s commentator. 


when he overran all the cities in that part, and destroyed all the 
other temples, this was also doomed to perish. An Ephesian, 
named Ilerostratus, or Eratostratus, thought that he should like to 
make his name renowned through all ages, and in order to do so, 
he owned, when on the rack, that he fancied he could do nothing 
better than set fire to this famous fabric. He accomplished his 
purpose ; and the temple, wooden goddess, and all, were burnt to 
the ground. This was a great loss to the city of Ephesus, and the 
Ephesians were so enraged, that they got an order published by 
the government, that his name should never be mentioned in any 
of the neighbouring kingdoms and nations. The plan of this en 
thusiast was, however, more effectual than theirs ; and if the act 
of burning down a fine building for so base a purpose, is any ho- 
nour to his memory, his name still remains, and will probably be 
recorded in history to the end of time. 

This event happened on the very same night in which Alexan- 
der the Great was born ; and as he was the son of a distinguished 
prince, the devotees of Diana said that the goddess was absent at 
his birth, and so it happened that she did not take care of her 
temple. Alexander, some years after, offered to rebuild this 
temple at his own expense ; but as he wished it to be dedicated ^ 
to himself, instead of the favourite goddess, the Ephesians cle- \ 
verly evaded his offer, and told the vain prince it was not fit that 
one god should build a temple to another. 

The Ephesians, however, soon found means to raise a large 
fund for the purpose of rearing another edifice, even more beau- 
tiful than the former. The pillars, and some other materials, 
had been saved from the flames, and such was the zeal of the 
people in bringing their offerings towards the new fabric, that the 
women gave up their gold, silver, and other precious ornaments, 
and so an immense treasure was soon heaped together. This 
temple, like the former, was also a wonder of the world, and was 
held in great veneration. But, like the former, it is also gone to 
ruins, and travellers can find nothing of it but a few broken pil- 
lars. This, then, was the temple which was standing in the days 
of the apostle Paul. 



■I 


1110 child’s commentator. 

The throngs that yearly visited Ephesus furnished the si.ver- 
smiths with plenty of employment to make silver models of this 
famed building, which they so much venerated, and they brought 
no small gain to the craftsmen. One of these silversmiths in 
particular, whose name was Demetrius, called together his fel- 
low-workmen, and told them of the injury they suffered by the 
reduced sale of their silver temples, in consequence of the apostle 
Paul having “almost throughout all Asia persuaded and turned 
away much people, saying, that they be no gods which are made 
with hands.” And he showed that the temple itself was in 
danger of falling into contempt and neglect, owing to the success 
of the apostle’s preaching. His interested auditors felt the force 
of what he said, and “ they were full of wrath, and cried out, 
saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.” 

Their noise and shouting roused the whole city, and having . 

put many others into a rage against the apostle’s preaching, the I 

mob caught Gaius and Aristarchus, two of Paul’s companions, 
and they rushed with them into the theatre, where public plays j 

were acted in honour of the goddess, and where, among other jj 

things, men were set to fight with wild beasts ; and very proba- 1 

bly it was intended to hurry the servants of Christ thither to / 

throw them to the wild beasts. 

Paul, not in the least afraid, would have followed them into 
the theatre to preach the Gospel even to this enraged multitude ; 
but the rulers at Ephesus advised him not to expose himself 
to danger, and probably thought the people were not in a mind 
to attend to anything he might say. 

When the people were got together in the theatre, a great 
many of them did not know why they were there, and as one 
asked another what was the matter, all were in confusion. 

In the meantime, Alexander, who was probably a Jew, was 
dragged into the theatre, the Jews helping to push him in, and 
so uniting in their wicked deeds with the Ephesian idolaters. 
Here Alexander would have spoken to the people, but, when he 
attempted to speak, the mob drowned his voice, and cried out, 

“ Great is Diana of the Ephesians.” They knew that they could 



i 



child’s commentator. 1111 


say nothing in their own defence in reply to Alexander, and so 
for two hours he tried in vain to speak, and they roared out 
against him. 

At length “ the town clerk” interfered. This was a person of 
some influence and authority ; and he hit upon a very good 
method to restore quietness. “ Why,” said he, “ you know that 
every body worships the goddess Diana, there is no need to dis- 
pute about that ; and you know that her image came down from 
Jupiter, and as nobody can contradict it, what need is there of all 
this noise V 1 This is just what he would have said in English, 
for his words are to the same purport. “ Besides,” he added, 
“ these men have done no harm to our goddess ; they have neither 
robbed the temple of her wealth, nor said anything that I know 
against her dignity. However, if they have done any harm, the 
*. law is ready to appeal to ; but if they have not, the injury will fall 
\ upon your own heads for disturbing the peace and making this 
terrible uproar; and if you do not immediately depart quietly 
i home, you will all be in danger of being taken up as rioters.” 

^ Having spoken to this effect, the people grew a little cool, and 

1 seeing that they could do nothing to stop the doctrines of the 
apostle, and might injure themselves, they quietly departed to 
their homes. 

From this chapter, we, however, learn to be ashamed of our- 
selves if we do nothing to support the cause of God. See how 
zealous the Ephesians were for their goddess ; what riches they 
bestowed on the temple ; and how ready they were to deny them- 
selves their showy things to rear it again. And shall we say that 
we love Jesus Christ, and yet give not a single mite, or only give 
what we can conveniently spare, to promote his cause in the world 1 
My dear young reader, begin to spare something early for him — 
you cannot begin too soon — and then it will grow into a habit 
when you attain more advanced age. The temple of Ephesus is 
indeed destroyed, and “the great goddess Diana” is no more; but 
there are still millions of idolaters in the world ; these have th tfft* 
splendid and wealthy temples, and their cruel and filthy rites. 
They know not the true God, and interested men keep them in 
ignorance of him, lest they should lose their employment in their 




\V 


1112 


child’s commentator. 


idolatrous temples. To these we have sent out missionaries, and 
would send more, if we had the means to do so. If all my 
readers will contribute, these means will be increased, and we may 
look for the time when these temples, as well as that of Ephesus, 
shall fall to ruins. 



THE TWENTIETH TO THE TWENTY-SIXTH CHAPTER OF THE ACTS. 

Paul visits Troas and preaches till midnight — Eutychus falls from 
a Window in his Sleep while hearing Paul , and is taken up dead , 
and restored to life — Paul bids farewell at Miletus to the Elders 
of the Church at Ephesus — Rhodes and its wonderful Statue — 
Paul travels to Cesar ea, where Agabus j)rophesies about him — • 
Paul goes to Jerusalem , is ill-treated by the Jews , and given into 
£usiody — Ordered to be scourged , but escapes it, pleading he was 
a Roman citizen — Is carried before the Jewish Sanhedrim— 
Skilfully divides his Adversaries against each other — Forty Jews 
take an Oath to kill him — Is carried off in the Night , under a 
Guard of Soldiers , to Cesarea — Pleads in his Defence in Cour • 


PAUL BEFORE THE COUNCIL. 








PAUL AT JERUSALEM 



child’s commentator. 


1115 


before Felix — Conversation with Felix and Brasilia — Kept Pris- 
oner two Years — Tried before Festus — Paul appeals to C cesar 
— Pleads his own Cause before King Agrippa. 

“Then said Agrippa unto Festus, This man might have been set 
at liberty if he had not appealed unto Csesar.” — Chap. xxvi. 32. 


We have now to follow the apostle Paul rapidly through some 
more of his travels; and, except a few occasional remarks, shall 
merely notice the places where he went, so as to explain their 
situation and importance, if they have not been noticed before. 

Paul, having taken leave of the disciples at Ephesus, now went 
into Macedonia, and having visited the disciples there — at Philippi, 
Thessalonica, and Beraea, of which we have lately read — “ he came 
into Greece,” or, as some think, Achaia. Here he remained three 
months, and was preparing to sail for Syria, when he heard that 
the Jews were watching for him to kill him if he went in that di- 
rection ; and so he resolved not needlessly to put himself into 
danger, but returned by land through Macedonia to visit the 
churches there. He was now accompanied into Asia by Sopater, 
of Bersea, and Luke, the writer of the Acts, who includes himself 
as one of the party when he speaks of “ us and Aristarchus, and 
Secundus, of Thessalonica; and Gaius, of Derbe; and Timothy, 
and Tychicus, and Trophimus, of Asia, went on to prepare mat- 
ters for the apostle’s reception at Troas. They sailed from Phi- 
lippi, as the apostle had intended to do, and it being a short way 
they reached Troas in five days. The apostle, however, was not many 
hours behind them, since he joined them there and spent a sabbath 
with them, ayd they remained there altogether but seven days. 

Here the disciples whom the apostle had formerly visited, met 
together with him and his companions to take the Lord’s supper; 
and as he had no time to continue with them more than one sab- 
bath day, he was willing to spend as much time as possible in in- 
structing them, while they w r ere equally as desirous of hearing 
the great truths he had to declare ; so he preached to them till 
midnight. 





- 1116 child’s commentator. 


And now an event took place, which, though at first it seemed 
very alarming, and might have affected the apostle’s credit for 
preaching at so unseasonable an hour, turned out for the honour 
of the cause of Christ. A young man, named Eutychus, was sit- 
ting near a window, and having fallen asleep, fell from a great 
height out on the ground below, for the room where they were 
met for worship was three stories high. 

It would not have been much to the credit of this young man 
that he fell asleep while the apostle was preaching, when he had 
so few opportunities of hearing him, and when he was now about 
so soon to depart; nor, indeed, would it have been to his credit 
to fall asleep in worship at any time; but we may perhaps find 
a reasonable excuse in the lateness of the hour, and the great 
warmth of the room, which was lit up with many lights ;” and 
it is possible, also, he might not be over strong or very well. It 
does not appear that the apostle reproved him for having done 
wrong, which he certainly would have done had he thought him 
to blame. And had there not been some good ground for excuse, 
it was very disrespectful to the preacher, and would have shown 
a want of reverence for that Saviour whose Gospel he preached, 
that he should indulge himself at such a moment in sleep. I have 
seen grown people and children guilty of this when they could 
make no excuse. Where the weakness of infancy or age prevails 
or any bodily infirmity exists, we cannot blame the sleeper ; but 
where it is not so, it is mere mockery to pretend to hear the 
word of God when we turn the pew into a bed-room. 

However, in the case of Eutychus, the apostle felt pity for him, 
went down, and, filling on him, restored him to life ; and to show 
that he did not think him an unworthy disciple, he took him up 
with him to the room from which he had fallen ; and he was 
allowed to take the Lord’s supper with the disciples of Jesus who 
were there assembled, “who were not a little comforted” to see 
a beloved brother in Christ restored to life, and to have such a 
strong proof of the truth of Paul’s doctrine in the miracle which 
he had now wrought in the name of Jesus; for in his name he 
always performed his miracles, and not in his own. 

The companions of Paul now took a passage in a ship to go 




CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


1117 


from Troas to Asso-s, a city of Asia by the sea-side ; and here the 
apostle, having travelled on foot, shortly joined them ; when, 
having been taken into the ship, they sailed for Metelino, a city 
in Lesbos, an island situated in the Aegean Sea, now known by 
the name of the Archipelago, being that part of the Mediterra- 
nean Sea which divides Greece from Asia Minor. Thence they 
continued their course “ over against Chios,” another island in the 
Aegean Sea, and the next day they reached Samos, another island 
in the same sea, and anchored or stopped at Trogyllium, a small 
island near Samos, for there was a bay here convenient for vessels 
to anchor in ; and the next day they came to Miletus, the chief 
city of Ionia. In his way to this place he passed by Ephesus, for 
he had determined to sail past it, “ because he would not spend 
the time in Asia,” wishing to be at Jerusalem at the great feast 
of Pentecost, that he might have an opportunity of preaching the 
\ Gospel to a great number of Jews, out of all countries, who, he 
knew, w r ould come to that feast. 

i Miletus being only about twelve miles from Ephesus, the apostle 
f sent for the elders or managing members of the church in that city, 

1 and he most affectionately addressed them, urging them to hold 
fast their profession of faith in Christ ; and he told them this was 
the last time he should see them, for he knew that he was about to 
go where he must become a great sufferer and a prisoner for the 
sake of the Lord Jesus, for whom he was even willing tq lay down 
his life ; “ and then he kneeled down and prayed w'itbthem all.” 
We are not told what his prayer was ; but we may readily sup- 
pose that it was one of the most earnest, affectionate, and tender 
prayers that was ever offered up to God, for he seemed to love the 
Ephesians most sincerely, and was deeply concerned for their hap- 
piness ; “ and they all wept sore, and fel I on Paul’s neck and kissed 
him.” In this way Esau fell on Jacob’s neck, and Joseph on his 
brother Benjamin’s ; it was, as you have heard before, the eastern 
way of showing great affection. 


Having parted with these elders, who accompanied Paul to the 
ship, and did not leave him till the very last moment, he and his 




1118 child’s commentator. 

companions sailed straight for Coos, or Cos, another island in the 
ASgean Sea, and the day following they reached Rhodes, a cele- 
brated island, which had a city of the same name. Here was that 
famous statue called the Colossus of the Sun, which was twelve 
years in making, and cost three hundred talents. It was seventy 
cubits high. I have several times said that a cubit is the length 
of a man’s arm from the elbow to the end of his middle finger. 
As it lay along it astonished all beholders, for few men with their 
arms stretched out could embrace the thumb. 

They next proceeded to a place called Patara, a city of Lycia, 
which was a country of Asia Minor, bounded on the south by the 
Mediterranean. Here they found a ship for Phoenicia, and thither 
they sailed, and passing Cyprus stood for Syria, and landed at 
Tyre, the chief city of Phoenicia. Having met with some Chris- 
tians here, they stayed to establish them in their faith, and were 
with them seven days. 

Then they sailed from Tyre to Ptolemais, a city of Galilee, on 
the sea-coast, where they remained with some fellow Christians 
during one day. And the day following Paul’s company stopped 
at Cesarea, “ and entered into the house of Philip the Evangelist,” 
undoubtedly the same who had baptized the eunuch, and there 
they took up their abode while they remained in that place. It 
is worthy of remark, that Philip had four daughters who had the 
gift of prophecy, or were inspired by the Holy Spirit to foretell 
events which should happen to the church of Christ. 

While the apostolical travellers were at Cesarea, the prophet 
Agabus arrived from Judea, and foretold the treatment Paul 
would meet with from the Jews at Jerusalem ; at the same time 
taking the girdle which fastened Paul’s robes round his body, he 
expressed it by the significant sign of binding his own hands and 
feet. This made Paul’s companions weep and entreat him not to 
go to Jerusalem ; but the holy servant of God, bent upon the con 
version of men, would not be dissuaded from his purpose on so 
important an occasion, when thousands of Jews would be collected 
together at the feast, and he answered, “ What mean ye to weep 
and to break my heart ? for I am ready not to be bound only, 
but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” 




child’s commentator. ms 

Shortly after this the party took their carriages, or rather, 
“ their baggage,” and went to Jerusalem, accompanied by some 
disciples of Cesarea, and one Mnason of Cyprus, an old disciple, 
who happened to reside at Jerusalem, and who accommodated 
them at his house. 

Here Paul was gladly received by the brethren, and rejoiced 
their hearts by telling them how successful his preaching had 
been in the conversion of the Gentiles. These in turn told him 
of many thousands of Jews, who believed in Christ at Jerusa- 
lem, great numbers of which, you remember, were converted im- 
mediately after the ascension of Christ. These J ews had, however, 
still some prejudices in favour of their ancient customs, and did 
not like, among other things, to give up circumcision. To meet 
their prejudices, or soften them down so that they should not feel 
angry at Paul, and so be indisposed to hear his preaching, the 
disciples advised him to yield in some things, which, though 
unnecessary, had no harm in them ; and as four men were per- 
forming the ceremonies of a vow, and purifying themselves after 
the manner of the old ceremonial law, they begged of Paul to do 
the same with them. The apostle, who was willing to become 
“all things to all men,” so that he might win their souls for 
Christ, agreed to this proposal, and passed through the forms of 
the vow. 

After this he visited the temple, where the Jews “ laid hands 
on him,” and treated him so cruelly, that they would have killed 
him, had not the chief captain rushed in among them with some 
soldiers and rescued him. He, however, supposed, from their 
treating Paul in this manner, that he might have been doing 
something wrong, and ordered him to be bound with chains, 
and so the prophecy of Agabas came to pass exactly as he had 
spoken it. 

Paul was now, with some difficulty, carried prisoner to the 
castle, for the Jews still pressed upon him to murder him. Here 
he conversed with the captain, who fancied he might be an 
Egyptian robber that had done much mischief, and accompanied 
by four thousand desperate men had lately troubled the neighbour- 
ing country. Paul then informed him that he was mistaken, for 








1120 child’s commentator. 


he was a citizen of Tarsus, no mean city in Cilicia, and begged to 
be allowed to address the people, which he did, as he stood oh 
the steps of the ascent to the castle. He then told them that he 
was brought up 44 at the feet of Gamaliel,” a learned Jew ; that is, 
he sat to receive his instructions, as scholars then sat beneath 
their masters ; that he had been as zealous as any Jew could be 
in behalf of his religion, but that he was converted on his way to 
Damascus as he was going to persecute the Christians, and that 
now he was an apostle of Jesus Christ, sent to preach to the Gen- 
tiles. This they could not bear, for they fancied themselves to be 
the only people whom God would honour with a divine message; 
and now again they broke out into a rage and tumult. The chief 
captain then ordered Paul to be scourged ; but while they were 
binding him, he said that he was a Roman citizen ; and it was a 
great crime to scourge such a person without a trial. Tarsus was 
a free city, and Paul’s parents being citizens of Tarsus, he was 
born free ; so Paul escaped being scourged, and the captain was 
greatly frightened that he had even bound him, for it was also a 
great offence against the Roman law to bind a Roman citizen. 


On the morrow, Paul was taken before the chief priests and 
council, or Jewish sanhedrim. While he was attempting to 
address them, the high priest, Ananias, commanded some to give 
him a slap in the face, which the apostle resented as a violation of 
the law, and called the priest a whited wall, meaning that he was 
an hypocrite, looking fair without but bad within. The Jews 
then reproved him for reviling God’s high priest, when he acknow- 
ledged that he would not have done it, but he was not aware that 
he was the high priest. 

The apostle, finding that the Jews would not hear him, wisely 
bethought himself to divide his enemies among themselves ; and 
as one thing which had offended the Jew's was his preaching the 
resurrection of Jesus, he called out that he was brought there for 
professing his hope in the resurrection of the dead. Now the 
Sadducees denied that there was any resurrection, but thePhari. 
sees believed it, and immediately, as Paul had foreseen, they fell 



child’s COMMENTATOR.' 1121 

out among themselves; and the scribes in the council, who were 
Pharisees, declared that Paul was unjustly accused. 

As the parties became violent, Paul’s life was in danger 
amongst them, and the chief captain, now fearing the consequences 
of his being injured as a Roman citizen, commanded the soldiers 
again to rescue him and take him into the castle. Here Jesus 
appeared to him in a vision, and told him he must preach his 
Gospel yet at Rome. 

Above forty of the Jews, enraged at the deliverance of the 
apostle, now took a solemn oath that they would neither eat nor 
drink till they had killed Paul ; and they proposed to the chief 
priests and elders, that if they would make an excuse to have him 
once more before the council, they would take care that he should 
not again escape alive. However, God defeated their wicked pur- 
pose, for, providentially, a sister of Paul’s had a son at Jerusalem, 
j who, having learned the intended plot of these men, went himself i 

I and informed the apostle, who sent him to tell the chief captain. 

The captain lost no time in protecting him, and ordered a body ( 
sji of soldiers to take him at night to Cesarea, a place which was 
/ seventy-five miles from Jerusalem, and where Felix resided, who 

was governor of Judea. The captain, whose name was Claudius j 
Lysias, also sent a favourable letter to Felix, which you may read 
in the twenty-third chapter. 

At Cesarea Paul was kept for five days in “ Herod’s judgment 
hall,” or court for holding trials. At the end of this time Ananias, 
the high priest, and the elders had travelled from Jerusalem, 
accompanied by an orator, or sort of counsellor, named Tertullus, 
for the purpose of prosecuting Paul. Tertullus, appearing in 
court, delivered a very flattering speech to Felix, and then accused 
Paul of being “ a pestilent fellow, and a mover of seditions,” and 
“ a ringleader of the Nazarenes,” a name of contempt given by the 
Jews to the Christians, derived from Jesus being brought up at 
Nazareth. Paul, in reply, defended himself with great eloquence, 
and his speech agreed with what the captain had said about him 
in his letter. Felix would not, therefore, hastily condemn him, 
but put off the business till he had inquired and thought more 
about it, and had seen the chief captain, who could more particu- 




1122 


child’s commentator. 


larly explain what he knew of the matter. In the mean time he 
ordered a centurion to keep guard over Paul, but allowed him to 
go unfettered, and to see any of his friends. 

Some days afterwards Felix, accompanied by his wife Drusilla, 
sent for Paul, and had some private conversation with him, “con- 
cerning the faith in Christ.” His wife was a Jewess, the daughter 
of Herod Agrippa, who was eaten by worms, and sister of the king 
called Agrippa ; and probably Felix wished to satisfy his curiosity, 
and that of his wife, about the new faith, which she could better 
understand than he, knowing something about the prophecies of 
the Messiah. Paul’s reasoning was most powerful ; and while he 
took this opportunity of striking at some vices which he knew had 
disgraced the character of Felix, and showed him that, though a 
ruler nimself, he must be judged at last for all his crimes before 
the Judge of the whole earth; the guilty “Felix trembled,” and 
then put off the conversation for another opportunity ; but he 
lulled his conscience to rest and never met Paul again, except on 
common matters, when he hoped he might bribe him to gain his 
liberty. 

In this unjust manner was Paul kept a prisoner during two 
years, when Porcius Festus was appointed governor of Judea in 
the room of Felix. Felix did not even then set the apostle at 
liberty, but left Paul bound, to please the Jews. This was, how- 
ever, of no advantage to him, for he was himself accused by some 
of the Jews of oppressive conduct, and taken before Caesar, to 
answer for his own real offences ; and had it not been that he 
had a brother named Pallas, who had great influence in the 
court, he would have been severely punished. 

The new governor, Festus, arriving at Jerusalem, the Jews had 
great hopes that they should now accomplish their wicked pur- 
poses against Paul ; and “ the high priest and chief of the Jews” 
even begged it as a favour of Festus, that he would send for Paul 
back to the sanhedrim at Jerusalem to be tried, where they would 
not have failed to have murdered him. Festus, however, thought 
he would first go to Cesarea, and inquire into the merits of the 
case, and he wished the Jews to accompany him thither, and bring 






CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


1123 


forward their charges against Paul. On reaching Cesarea, he took 
his seat as judge, and the apostle was brought before him ; but his 
accusers were not able to prove anything against him. Notwith- 
standing this, the wicked governor, who ought to have set him 
free, proposed, after all, to send him before the sanhedrim, wishing 
by so doing to gratify the great persons among the Jews. Paul, 
however, again took shelter under his rights as a Roman citizen, 
and demanded that he should at once go before the emperor, 
or Caesar, Nero then reigning at Rome, which completely defeated 
the malicious schemes of his adversaries, and left no means of 
evasion for Festus. 

Agrippa, who ruled over some of the small states in that part, 
with the title of king, and his sister Bernice, came now to pay a 
visit to Festus, and congratulate him on his new dignity. Festus 
told Agrippa how much he was perplexed about Paul, that he had 
been tried before him and appeared to be an innocent man ; but 
that, as the matters in dispute were chiefly things which concerned 
the Jews, and which he did not well understand, he had wished to 
have sent him before the sanhedrim, but Paul had resolved to 
appeal to Caesar. 

Agrippa, being a Jew, had his curiosity excited, and wished to 
examine Paul himself; so he was, on the next day, brought 
before the public court, where Agrippa, and Festus, and Bernice, 
and all “ the chief captains and principal men of the city,” were 
assembled together. Festus then openly declared his opinion of 
Paul’s innocence ; but since he had appealed to Caesar he said he 
must now send him to Rome, but he really did not know what to 
say to the emperor as an excuse for sending him thither. He 
had, therefore, assembled this court for advice, and especially 
wished for that of Agrippa, an illustrious person, and who was 
capable of entering better into the matters in dispute. 

After Festus had spoken, Agrippa told Paul he might speak ; 
when the apostle again eloquently pleaded his own cause, stated 
his early life, his conversion, his mission to the Gentiles, his 
sufferings from the Jews, and the doctrines which he preached. 
At length he was suddenly interrupted by Festus, who said, with 
41 



1124 


child’s commentator. 


Pi 


a loud voice, “Paul, thou art beside thyself, much learning hath 
made thee mad.” To whom Paul replied, that he was perfectly 
in his senses, and his doctrines were the words of truth. The 
apostle also so closely pressed his address upon Agrippa, that he 
forced him to cry out, “ Almost thou persuadest me to be a Chris- 
tian.” Alas, my young reader, there are but too many like 
Agrippa who are “ almost” persuaded to be Christians, but not 
altogether : they see much that is lovely in Christ and his reli- 
gion, but they cannot bear to be accounted singular for his sake, 
to deny themselves a life of worldly pleasure, and give up their 
sins, and break with their evil companions, and so they die as 
heathens or Jews; for, though from custom they may be called 
Christians, that does not make them so, and no man is a Christian 
unless he studies daily to be more and more like Christ. Every 
Christian feels that, notwithstanding the hatred of the world, it is 
a great honour and happiness to bear the name of Christ ; and 
with this feeling Paul said to the king, “ I would to God that not 
only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost 
and altogether such as I am, except these bonds.” ! 

After breaking up the council, Agrippa told Festus, that if 
Paul had not appealed to Caesar, he should certainly have advised j 

his being set at liberty, for he was, without doubt, an innocent \ 

man. 


THE TWENTY-SEVENTH AND TWENTY-EIGHTH CHAPTERS OF 
THE ACTS. 

Paul's dangerous Voyage to Rome — Is shipwrecked — His Miracles 
at Melita — Preaches in his own House at Rome , and converts 
great Numbers to Christ. 

“Some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship, and so 
it came to pass that they escaped all safe to land.” — 
Chap, xxvii. 44. 

Paul was now given in charge of Julius, a Roman centurion, 
and sent on board a ship of Adramyttium to sail for Rome. 



PAUL AND THE PUOPLE OF MELITA 








PAUL BEFORE AGR1PPA 















child’s commentator. 1127 


Adramyttium was a sea-port town in Mysia, a country adjoining 
Galatia. He was accompanied in his voyage by a Christian 
brother named Aristarchus. They touched at Sidon, a famous 
city of Phoenicia, where Paul having some friends, Julius hand- 
somely allowed him permission to go and visit them. Thence 
they sailed under the island of Cyprus, and crossed the sea of 
Cilicia and Pamphylia, and then came to Myra, a city of Lycia. 

Here the centurion found a ship of Alexandria which was bound 
for Italy. Alexandria was the chief city of Egypt, built by 
Alexander the Great, immediately after his conquest of Egypt, 
and it was peopled with Greeks. It had many magnificent 
buildings, and a library, built by Ptolemy Philadelphus, one 
of the kings of Egypt, containing seven hundred thousand volumes, 
which was, unfortunately burnt in a war between Julius Caesar, 
who was the Roman emperor, and Pompey,agreat Roman general. 

In order to make a short cut to Italy, the master of the ship 
f now stood towards Cnidus, a place in Asia Minor, but the wind 

being contrary, he altered his course, and so sailed below Crete, if 
Ssj; one of the noblest isles in the Mediterranean Sea, which is now || 

f/ better known by the name of Candia, and then he passed over f 1 

against Salmone, known latterly by the name of Capo Salamone, a 
piece of land in the island of Crete. They next came to a place J 
called Fair Havens, near Lasea, a city on the sea-shore of Crete. 

Having lost much time in sailing slowly against the wind, or 
stopping at the Fair Havens, the captain wished to proceed on 
his voyage, although the time of the year was now very unfavour- 
able. Paul advised the centurion not to proceed, for there was 
great danger ; but the captain persisted, and in the end found he 
had done wrong in not taking the apostle’s advice. Rash people 
have often to repent of not taking kind and wise advice, when it 
is too late. 

As the haven was not commodious to winter in, they proceeded 
on their course towards Phenice, a haven of Crete, having a 
favourable wind. In a short time, however, the wind changed, 
and “ a tempestuous wind” blew, “ called Euroclydon.” Here the 
ship becoming unmanageable, was let to take her own course, 
wheri she ran under an island called Clauda. Fearing they 



1128 


child’s commentator. 


should be wrecked, with some difficulty they secured their boat 
to go ashore , and they passed ropes and chains round about the 
ship to keep her from going to pieces, and they took down their 
sails, and so were driven about in the sea wherever the wind 
might bear them, having only what the sailors call bare poles. 

Still the tempest increased, and it was found necessary to throw 
every thing burdensome overboard to lighten the ship, that she 
might the more easily float on the tossing waves. The sailors, in 
that age, steered their course by the sun, moon, and stars ; but 
the skies were so darkened by this storm, and that for many days, 
that they could see none of the heavenly bodies, and therefore 
knew not whither they went; and in this uncertain state they 
gave themselves up for lost, expecting that the ship must at last 
strike on rocks or quicksands. 

While they were all in a state of despair, God showed Paul in 
a vision that he should not perish by the storm, but should yet 
bear witness to his truth before Caesar at Rome. Then Paul told 
his companions that they would have acted wisely to take his 
advice ; however, now they must be shipwrecked, but their lives 
would all be saved. 

On the fourteenth night the seamen found, by sounding, that 
they were approaching some land, and so to prevent their falling 
upon the rocks they cast anchor. Sounding is done by dropping 
a weighted line into the sea, and, if it soon reaches the bottom, the 
sailors can tell on a dark night that they are near some shore. 
Casting anchor is throwing an iron, with sharp-barbed points, and 
fastened to a long rope, into the sea ; and the anchor sticking fast 
at the bottom, and the rope being fastened to the ship, it cannot 
be easily moved from its place. In this case four anchors were 
lowered to hold the ship the more firm. 

The sailors now attempted to escape for their lives, and were 
stealing off with the boat, when Paul declared that their con- 
tinuance was absolutely necessary to save the rest ; so the soldiers 
cut the rope by which the boat was tied to the ship, and let it go, 
that the sailors might not get into it. 

They had now all fasted a long time, and the apostle urged 



tkc*a to eat before the ship was wrecked, and to gather a little 



^\\VVLU 

( SMM m I m: i Wi ■ v f 




_r 


1 


child’s commentator. 


1129 


strength for the toils they would have to undergo ; and then he 
solemnly gave God thanks before them all, and began himself to 
eat. We ought never to take our food without giving God 
thanks ; for, as good Mr. Henry says, we cannot put a morsel of 
food into our mouths till God first puts it into our hands. 

The number of the crew and passengers was two hundred and 
seventy-six. Having satisfied their appetites, the last thing which 
they could do to lighten the ship was to throw away the wheat 
and provisions ; this they now did. 

At day-light they saw a little creek of water, with a shore, and 
taking up the anchors, hoisted a sail, and tried to run the ship in. 
In doing this they ran upon some sands, where two seas met, and 
the fore part stuck fast, but the hinder part was broken by the 
furious waves. 

The soldiers now proposed to kill the prisoners, lest any of 
them should escape, and they should be answerable for them ; and 
the apostle Paul was to have been killed among the rest. But 
the centurion, who, by this time, greatly respected Paul, opposed 
the wicked, cruel, and ungrateful scheme ; he, therefore, ordered 
those who could swim to escape to the shore, and that the others 
should ride on boards and broken pieces of timber from the ship, 
and escape the best way they could ; and so they all got “ safe 
to land.” 


The place at which they landed was called Melita, which has 
generally been supposed to be the island now called Malta. Here 
the natives, though uncivilized, showed the shipwrecked mariners 
a great deal of kindness ; and as it was rainy, and they were 
fatigued and coid, they made a fire to warm them. As all 
helped to gather wood for it, Paul had also gathered a bundle, 
and while he was laying it on the fire a viper came out of it, being 
driven by the heat, and fastened upon his hand. The bite of this 
serpent is exceedingly venomous, and its poison the most danger- 
ous. The natives, being very superstitious, thought that this was a 
judgment on Paul, whom they took for some murderer that God 
was now punishing, though he had escaped shipwreck. Paul 




1130 child’s commentator. 

shook off the reptile into the fire, and they all looked on expecting 
to see him fall down dead ; but when they saw he had received 
no hurt, they then looked upon him as no less than a god. 


This island had a governor named Publius, who very hospitably 
received the unfortunate strangers. But his hospitality was well 
repaid ; for the father of Publius, lying at the time sick of a fever, 
Paul “prayed, and laid his hands on him and healed him.” 
As soon as this was known, many others applied for and obtained 
cures, and so the apostle and his companions had much respect 
on the island during the time of their stay, and received every 
thing they needed to help them on their voyage. 

Here they remained during three months, when they sailed in 
a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle. They next 
landed at Syracuse, a famous city in Sicily, where they stopped 
three days. They then sailed round Sicily, and came to Rhegium, 
a city in Calabria ; thence to Puteoli, a large sea-port town not 
far from where Naples now stands; here Paul met with some 
Christian brethren, and staid seven days with them, Julius most 
probably kindly consenting to gratify their wishes that Paul might 
so stay. Thence they went to Appii Forum, which was fifty miles 
from Rome, and to which place some of the Christians of Rome, 
hearing of their approach, went to meet the Apostle, as others did 
also at the Three Taverns, which was thirty miles from Rome. 
The sight of these Christians greatly encouraged Paul’s heart, fur 



CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


1131 


he was glad to see they were not ashamed of him as a prisoner 
for the cause of Christ. 

On arriving at Rome, Paul was allowed to have an apartment 
to himself, that he might not be annoyed by the common prison- 
ers; perhaps he owed this favour to the kindness of Julius, the 
centurion, who had behaved towards him very handsomely 
throughout his whole voyage. He had, however, a soldier with 
him, and, according to the Roman custom, this man was constant- 
ly chained to the apostle, as men are handcuffed together in our 
country. 

Here Paul sent for the Jews at Rome, and told them how un- 
justly he had been treated by their brethren, and how he had 
been obliged to appeal to Caesar ; and he informed them about 
Christ, the true Messiah ; and finding them disposed to hear him 
he met many that visited him, and instructed them in the gospel, 
and numbers of them believed in Jesus. “ And Paul dwelt two 
whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came 
in unto him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those 
things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, 
no man forbidding him.” 




1132 


child’s C6MMENTAT0R. 


THE 

EPISTLES OP PAUL THE APOSTLE. 


“ Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine 
own hand.” — Galatians, chap. vi. 11. 

The apostles not only visited the Christians at different places, 
but, when they were absent, wrote letters to them to instruct them 
in the knowledge of Christ. These having been collected toge- 
ther, are given us in the New Testament, and we have the Epistles 
to the Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, 
Colossians, and Thessalonians ; to Timothy, a disciple of Christ,' 
and pupil of the apostle Paul *, to Titus, an evangelist, or preacher 
of the Gospel; and to the Hebrews. All these except the He 
brews are known to have been written by St. Paul. The Epistle 
of James was written by that apostle, as were also the Epistles of 
Peter by Peter, and of John by John, and the Epistle of Jude by 
Jude. Be it remembered these were not written with verses, but 
in one continued letter each, the verses being a modern invention 
to assist us in making our references; and hence it is sometimes 
necessary to read on from the end of one chapter to the begin- 
ning of another, to understand its full meaning. 


THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 

This Epistle is placed first in the list of the Epistles, probably 
because Rome was a place of very great importance, but the 
Epistles to the Thessalonians, Corinthians, and the Eirst Epistle 
to Timothy, and that to Titus, were all written before it. 

The Epistle itself shows that the apostle Paul had never seen 
the Roman Christians when he wrote to them, but he felt a great 
interest in them ; and they must have loved him much for it, for 



child’s commentator. 1133 



they travelled from thirty to fifty miles from that city to meet 
him, when he was going as a prisoner there. 

You are not to suppose from the title, that the people to whom 
this epistle was written were native Romans ; some of them were 
so, and were converted from heathenism, — but they were merely 
persons dwelling in Rome, most of whom were converted Jews. 
The apostle calls them neither Jews nor Romans, but addressed 
them, as “ all that be at Rome, beloved of God, called to be Saints.” 

The chief design of this Epistle was to show these dwellers at 
Rome and us, how a poor sinner may be justified or accounted right- 
eous and good in the sight of God. Then, as in the other Epistles, 
after having explained the grand subject he had in his mind, he 
exhorts the Christians to practise various duties. These duties 
are named frequently in his various Epistles, and are such as, 
obedience to parents and rulers, respect to ministers, kindness and 
charity toward each other, and love to all saints. There are 
also various remembrances desired to be given from him to differ- 
ent persons, just as we now send our love and kind regards when 
we write to friends, and beg them to give them for us to other 
friends where they reside. In the close of this Epistle, it is writ- 
ten, “ I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord.” 
This merely means that he was employed by the apostle Paul to 
write down the Epistle, which was frequently the case, though 
sometimes, as in the passage quoted at the head of this chapter, 
from the Galatians, he wrote the whole with his own hand. The 
words were, however, at all times, those of the apostle himself. 

I do not intend to go through these chapters as we did those 
on history, but only to notice such terms as it may be desirable 
for you fully to understand in reading them for yourself. 

First chapter and first verse. “ Apostle.” This word means 
“ sent,” and the name is more especially given to the twelve per- 
sons who were sent forth by Jesus Christ himself in person, to 
preach his gospel. Paul was, however, numbered along with the 
apostles, for he saw our Lord alive after his crucifixion, which 
was one very necessary qualification, that he, like the rest, might 
bear testimony to his resurrection. 

Seventh verse. “ Saints.” We have before observed, that a saint 




1134 


child’s commentator. 


means a holy person. On this account the name was given, by 
the early Christians, to those holy men of God who wrote the 
New Testament Scripture. When it is used by the apostles, it 
always means pious people. Wicked persons, who despise reli- 
gion will sometimes use the term by way of ridicule, but we 
should never be ashamed of being called “ Saints it is the most 
honourable title we can bear, and the only reason for shame is 
that we deserve it so little. 

Third chapter and twentieth verse. “Justified.” — This is a 
term used in law. When a person is tried by the judge, if he 
is found innocent, he is acquitted and justified ; if guilty, he is 
sentenced and condemned. The apostle proves in this Epistle, 
that all men are guilty before God. The breaker of human laws 
has become guilty, and is condemned ; and so the breaker of God’s 
laws is guilty and condemned. He has broken the law, — can 
never be saved by keeping it in future, even if he were to do so ; 
because his future obedience will not excuse him for doing what 
was wrong before. But the apostle shows us how we can be saved, 
by the obedience of another who has never broken the law, and by 
his making satisfaction for what we have done. No one but Jesus 
Christ could do this, being the Son of God in our nature ; and 
his righteousness or merit becomes ours, if we truly believe 
or trust in him as our Saviour. Thus we become justified by 
faith in him, and for his sake we are no longer accounted guilty, 
and are freed from condemnation. This is the chief argument 
used by the Apostle, in the Epistle to the Romans. 

Twenty-fourth verse. “ Redemption.” This is a word to set 
forth our salvation. It means a release from captivity. The sin- 
ner is a slave to sin and to Satan, and a prisoner under the law of 
God, which he has broken. From all this evil Christ trusted in 
by real faith, sets the soul free. Captives were often redeemed by 
money, but we “ are not redeemed by such corruptible things as 
silver and gold,” but “ by the precious blood of Christ.” The 
blood of Christ was considered as a price paid to Divine justice to 
release us from guilt, and so from condemnation ; and by trust- 
ing in Christ alone for salvation, we become free from all the claims 
for satisfaction from a broken law, and are saved from the power 




CHILD 8 COMMENTATOR. 1135 


of sin and Satan ; “ being justified freely by his grace, through 
the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” 

Twenty-fifth verse. “Propitiation.” This is another word which 
is often used in the Epistles, and which should be. well understood, 
or we cannot understand them. To propitiate, is to make any 
one gracious. Christ was our “ propitiation,” because by his 
death he made God gracious to sinners. He then made propitia- 
tion for us, and covered our guilt, as the mercy-seat, or pro- 
pitiatory, did the tables of the law, in the tabernacle, of which 
we read in the beginning of the Old Testament. 

“ Remission” is another word we must understand, and it means 
here forgiveness. 

Eighth chapter and fifteenth verse. “Adoption.” We must 
know what this means. In various ancient nations it was a cus- 
tom for those persons who had no children to possess their wealth 
and estates after they died, to choose some one as their child. 
The person chosen then gave up his family for ever, and took the 
k name of the one he entered, and was made the lawful heir by 

i adoption, as though he had been born the son of the party that 

/ adopted him. The persons adopting took all possible care of the 
new member of their family, and the new member loved and 
respected them in return. Thus when God’s grace touches the 
heart of a sinner, he who was by nature “ a child of wrath even 
as others,” becomes a child of God. “ As many as received him, 
to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them 
that believe on his name.” God then owns them, and treats them 
as his dear children, and they, having “ the Spirit of adoption” — 
the spirit of one made a child of God — cry, “ Abba, Father.” 
They call God Father, and they look to him as their gracious 
Father in heaven, loving him with all their heart, and trusting in 
him for every good thing which they really need. The apostle 
used two words here which mean the same thing ; Abba is the word 
by which the Jews called God Father, and the other word repre- 
sents that by which the Gentiles called him Father, and so they 
mean, that though using different words, yet both Jew and Gen- 
tile, that trust in Christ, and come to God by him, are alike made 
his dear children. 



m/e 



1136 child’s commentator. 


Twenty-ninth verse. “ Predestinate” means to determine and 
appoint long before the doing of a thing. Properly speaking, God 
can predestinate, but men cannot, they can only intend to do a 
thing ; for what“God purposes to do, he can and will certainly do ; 
but no man is sure of living to do what he intends, or if he lives, 
he is not sure but something may defeat his purpose. 

“ Called.” . This terms means calling a sinner to forsake his 
wicked ways, and to give himself up to the service of God, and 
this in such a way that he hears the call which God’s Spirit speaks 
to his heart, and he willingly obeys and forsakes sin, and serves 
God. 

Thirty-third verse. “ Elect.” This word means chosen. Those 
whom God loves. 

Twelfth chapter and Jirstverse. “A living sacrifice.” This verse 
is remarkable. “ I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mer- 
cies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, 
acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” A sacri- 
fice is properly an animal offered to God, and slain for the purpose. 
Such was a sacrifice according to the law in the Leviticus. A 
living sacrifice, therefore, seems a contradiction, but it means a 
lasting or perpetual sacrifice. The victim was offered up and the 
sacrifice was over ; but we are to offer up ourselves to God con- 
tinually, to be always devoted or given to him. 


THE FIRST AND SECOND EPISTLES TO THE CORINTHIANS. 

Corinth has been noticed when we treated on the Acts. It was 
a large and crowded city, and the capital or chief city of Achaia ; 
and Achaia was a country in Greece. The apostle Paul was at 
this place about two years, and having converted many Jews and 
Gentiles, and left them united together in a Christian Church, he 
now wrote to them to correct some wrong things which he heard 
were practised among them. 

Corinth was celebrated for its games, called the Isthmian games, 
because the place itself stood on an isthmus, or neck of land join- 
ing it to a continent, or very large quantity of land, containing 



child’s commentator. 


1137 


many countries. These games were practised every fourth year. 
There were other games of a similar kind celebrated in Greece, 
called the Olympic, Pythian, and Nemaean. Those who engaged 
in these games were trained for twelve months before ; and they 
had suitable food and exercise, to prevent them from growing too 
fat, or too indolent, and so becoming unfit to endure the hardships 
they had to undergo ; for they had to run, to wrestle, to leap, and 
to box. The boxers used their arms, frequently beating the 
air, as if they were beating their opponents, that so they might be 
skilful and strong. The path of the racers was marked out by 
white lines, or posts ; he who did not keep within them, though he 
was first at the goal, or winning post, lost the prize. Garlands or 
crowns made of pine-leaves, olives, laurel, and parsley, were given 
the conquerors by the judges appointed to decide who had won ; 
and other honours and privileges belonged to them. Large num- 
bers of spectators were present to see these games, which drew as 
much attention in Greece, as the greatest sights do among us. 

The apostle Paul often alludes to these games, to show how 
much the Christian should struggle, by prayer, self-denial, and 
other means, against sin, in order to obtain superior honours. 
So you will, from knowing what has been here mentioned about 
them, understand his meaning in many parts of his Epistles, 
where otherwise it would not have appeared quite plain. The 
following texts are among those in which the apostle alludes to 
these games. 

First Corinthians, ninth chapter and twenty-fourth and following 
verses. “ Know ye not that they which run in a race, run all, but one 
receiveth the prize ? So run, that ye may obtain. And every 
man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. 
Now they do it to obtain a corruptible cr>wn, but we an incor- 
ruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly ; so fight I, not 
as one that beateth the air: but I keep under my body, and 
bring it into subjection ; lest that by any means, when 1 have 
preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” 

The fifth chapter of Galatians , and the seventh verse. “Ye did 
run well ; who did hinder you, that ye should not obey the truth V 1 

The second chapter of Philippians , and the sixteenth verse. 


1138 



child’s commentator. 


1 

; l 


“ Holding forth the word of life ; that I may rejoice in the day of 
Christ, that 1 have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.” 
Here the apostle means to say, that with all the ardour of a racer 
in the games, he had striven to win souls for Christ. That the 
winning of these was his prize, in which he rejoiced, and should 
rejoice yet more, when at the judgment day he should see them safe, 
body and soul, in heaven ; and that their shining in the purity of 
Christians by the holiness of their lives, was to him the best 
ground of hope that he had not run in vain for this prize. 

The third chapter oj the same Epistle , and the thirteenth and 
fourteenth verses. “ This one thing I do, forgetting those things 
which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are 
before, 1 press toward the mark, for the prize of the high calling 
of God in Christ Jesus.” The mark was a pole, fixed in the 
ground, sometimes with the crown at the top, which the victor 
gained for his prize. 

The twelfth chapter of the Hebrews , and first verse. “ Where- 
fore seeing we also are encompassed about with so great a cloud of 
witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so 
easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set 
before us.” By laying aside every weight, means throwing off 
every pleasure and pursuit that is likely to encumber us in run- 
ning on for the prize of heavenly glory, just as a racer would 
throw off any garment or burden that was likely to hinder him 
in winning in the Isthmian games. 

Some other Scriptures in the Corinthians just need a brief ex- 
planation. 

First Corinthians , third chapter and second verse. “I have 
fed you with milk, and not with meat.” The apostle here speaks 
in a figure, as he often does, and as he does when he refers to the 
games. By milk he means teaching some simple truths of reli- 
gion ; and by meat he means some more difficult truths, which it 
required more time to understand. 

Sixteenth verse. “ Ye are the temple of God.” God’s holy 
presence was in the temple of Solomon, where his people worship, 
ped ; and so it is in the heart of every good man, just as it was in 
the temple, cheering him and blessing him. 



child’s commentator. 


1139 


Fifteenth chapter and thirty-second verse. “ I have fought with 
beasts at Ephesus.” The apostle, when persecuted, was made 
either to fight with wild beasts at Ephesus, a wicked city, — or, he 
speaks in a figure, in which he calls wicked men who persecuted 
him by the name of beasts; as David sometimes does in the 
Psalms. Some of the ancient nations had large places built in 
the shape of a circle or oval, called Amphitheatres, with seats 
raised all around, one above another ; and here they exhibited 
fights between wild beasts, and men who were obliged to fight 
them for their lives ; the battle being fought on the ground in the 
centre. Christians were very commonly sentenced by the heathen 
to be given to the beasts. Let us praise God that our true love 
to Jesus Christ is not now tried by so hard a test; if it were, we 
ought rather to die for him who died for us, than to dishonour 
him. 


THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 

Galatia was a province of Asia Minor, and this Epistle was not 
written to the inhabitants of any particular city or town, but to 
the Christians in the whole province. It is not certain by whom 
their several churches were founded, but it is thought probable 
that they were founded by the apostle. The reason why the Epis- 
tle was written was this: some converted Jews had joined the 
Galatians, and not having a clear knowledge of the gospel of 
Christ, had taught them they must in becoming Christians, attend 
to some things which were peculiar to the religion of the Jews. 
Now as Christ had done away with all the rites of the Jewish 
Church, which were o»ly shadows or types and figures of the 
spiritual worship of his new church, this was a great mistake ; 
and the apostle wrote to correct it. 


THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 

Some account of the city of Ephesus has been given in the re- 
marks on the nineteenth chapter of the Acts. The apostle Paul 


1140 



child’s commentator. 


went to this city after he had been at Corinth, but he made only 
a short stay. The next time he visited it he found twelve disci- 
ples, and made many more. He continued two or three years, 
and formed a Christian church, to whom this Epistle was written. 
The apostle foresaw that teachers of untruths would spring up 
after his death, and his design in writing to the Ephesians was to 
fix their minds in the pure truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 
Two passages in this Epistle may require notice. 

The second chapter and jirst verse. “ And you hath he quick- 
ened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.” Here you will 
observe, that the words “ hath he quickened,” are printed in italic 
letters, which means, that in translating them into English, from 
the Greek language, in which the Epistles were written, these italic 
words are added by the translator. The reason for his adding 
them was, to supply what was evidently omitted, and so to make 
sense. In the second chapter of Colossians, and the thirteenth 
verse, the whole meaning is translated exactly from the Greek 
original, so that the addition here is clearly what the 
apostle meant. You will frequently see these italics , and now 
remember that they are always to show that the words are added 
by the translator to make sense. I am not sure whether 1 have 
before mentioned this. The meaning of this text is, “ To you 
God hath given spiritual life, to live to his glory, who were before 
as those who are dead, and never loved and served God, being 
senseless about good things, as dead persons are senseless to 
every thing.” 

Sixth chapter and thirteenth verse. “ Take unto you the whole 
armour of God.” There are many figures used by the apostle 
Paul which are so evident, that they need not be explained ; or 
else of such a nature, that they can only be well understood by 
persons of riper years. These are therefore passed over for the 
sake of brevity. “ The whole armour of God” is here mentioned, 
“ truth,” “ righteousness,” &c., compared to the military girdle of 
the ancient warrior, and the breastplate and other parts of his 
armour, from the various uses of these to protect him. Though our 
soldiers are not now so clad, yet you must have often seen pictures 
representing these warriors armed from top to toe ; some of the 





child’s commentator. 

royal guards are also still partly dressed in this manner, and men 
in complete armour may have been seen by the young reader, ff a 
resident in London ; as they usually form apart of the procession 
on Lord Mayor’s day. As the ancient warriors were thus pro- 
tected against the swords, and spears, and darts of their foes, so 
the apostle exhorts all Christians to guard themselves against the 
different attacks which Satan, the enemy of mankind, will be 
making against their purity, and peace, and happiness. 


THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 

You read something about Philippi in the commentary on the 
sixteenth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. Philippi was a 
Roman colony, or place far from Rome, inhabited by Romans 
who had gone thither to live. It was situated in Macedonia, a 
country near Greece. The gospel was first preached here by the 
apostle Paul. The design of this Epistle was to exhort the 
Philippians to live in love towards each other, and to comfort 
them under those troubles which they were called to endure from 
the persecutors of the Christians. 

Second chapter and twenty-fifth verse . — “ Epaphroditus, my 
brother and companion in labour, and fellow-soldier.” As we have 
just seen that Christians are called to put on the whole armour 
of God ; so in the same manner are they considered as soldiers : 
for as soldiers have to contend with powerful foes, by whom they 
will be overcome if they do not overcome them, so the Christian 
must overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil, or these will 
overcome him. Devoted ministers of Christ, as Paul and Epa- 
phroditus were, are soldiers, particularly exposed as leaders in 
this warfare. 


THE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS. 

Colosse was a city in Lesser Asia, which perished by an earth- 
quake with several other cities. Soon after this Epistle was writ- 
ten a new city was built on its ruins. It is not known how the 



child’s commentator. 


1142 

Christian faith reached this place, and it is thought by some that 
the apostle Paul w'as not known therein person, because in the second 
chapter, and first verse, he seems to imply that they had not seen 
his face in the flesh ; but this language is not quite certain, and 
does not exactly state any such thing. Some therefore think thnt 
the apostle Paul did preach here, for during three years that he 
dwelt at Ephesus, he employed himself with so much zeal and 
diligence, that we are told in the nineteenth chapter of the 
Acts, that “ all they that dwelt in Asia, heard the word of the 
Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.” This, like some of the Epis- 
tles, is chiefly written to warn against making mistakes in religion, 
and to encourage to constancy in the profession of faith in Christ. 
It is to be noticed, that this Epistle, and that to the Ephe- 
sians are very much alike, from which it is thought that they 
were both written at the same time, while the same inspired 
thoughts were fresh on the mind of the apostle. 

The second chapter and fourteenth verse. “Blotting out the 
hand-writing of ordinances that was against us, which was con- 
trary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.” 
This means, that we owed obedience to God’s law, and not hav- 
ing perfectly obeyed it, have become greatly in debt, — so much 
so, that it was impossible we could ever pay. But Jesus Christ 
became the surety for them that should believe in him, and by 
his obedience and satisfaction paid all their debt. Then as a debt 
no longer stands in a book of accounts against those who have 
paid it, but is blotted out and crossed over with the pen, so are 
our sins blotted out ; and as in ancient times, old agreements 
were cancelled, or done away with by a nail being driven through 
them as a matter of form ; so likewise when Christ died on the 
cross, all the claims of the holy law of God which we have broken, 
were rendered void. The broken law was satisfied by his obedi- 
ence unto death, and so they who believe in him are henceforth 
free from all condemnation. 

Fifteenth verse. “ And having spoiled principalities and pow- 
ers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in 
it.” Principalities and powers may mean wicked spirits, and 
death and hell, which are sometimes spoken of as if they were 




child’s commentator. 1143 

persons ; and the wicked men in power who opposed Christ, and 
the progress of his kingdom. By the doctrines of his cross Christ 
has overcome all these. When he died, he led, as it were, all his 
enemies of every kind captive, and made a triumphant show of 
them before all the world of men and angels. So ancient con- 
querors spoiled their enemies of their armour, exhibited them 
with reproach to the public, and emperors, kings, queens, and 
generals, were marched before the chariot of the conqueror, the 
monarchs wearing their crowns, and all with their hands bound 
behind them. After this the unhappy captives were often led 
away for slaughter. This allusion shows how completely Christ 
has overcome all the enemies of his people, — as completely as did 
the conqueror who marched his foes in the triumphal procession. 


THE FIRST AND SECOND EPISTLES TO THE 
THESSALONIANS. 

Thessalonica was a very large and flourishing city, where trade 
was free, and the capital of Macedonia. The place is now called 
Salonica. Here the apostle came after he had been at Philippi, 
and staid there about three weeks, and preached every sabbath 
day. Many Jews, Greeks, and chief women of the place readily 
received the glad tidings of salvation, which he declared, and the 
foundation was laid of a gospel church. The wicked Jews, who 
despised the apostle’s message, raised a mob, and assaulted the 
house of Jason, where Paul and Silas were, and they were sent 
away for safety by night out of the city. Timothy was soon after 
sent by the apostles to comfort and instruct the converts at this 
city. He was pleased with what he saw, and took back to the 
apostle a report of the faith and charity which appeared among 
the Thessalonians. The apostle then wrote the First Epistle, and 
some months afterwards he also wrote a Second, comforting the 
Christians in their troubles, and urging them to hold fast their 
profession. 

An important expression occurs, which requires explanation, in 
The First Epistle, fourth chapter and third verse. “ For this is the 




1144 child’s commentator. 


will of God, even your sanctification.” Sanctify means to set apart 
for holy purposes. Sanctification is the work of God’s Holy 
Spirit upon our minds, making us more holy in our affections, 
desires, and pursuits, and therefore more holy in our lives. 


THE FIRST AND SECOND EPISTLES TO TIMOTHY. 

Timothy was remarkable for his early piety and acquaintance 
with the Scriptures. The apostle in writing to him says, “ From 
a child thou hast known the Scriptures, which are able to make 
thee wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” 
His mother, Eunice, was a Jewess, and his father was a Greek. 
When in his travels the apostle Paul came from Antioch the se- 
cond time to Lystra, Timothy was so warmly recommended to 
A him by the church in that place, that he took him with him as a 
travelling companion. He was set apart for the work of an 
Evangelist, in order to be a fellow-labourer with Paul in preach- 
ing the gospel. The apostle evidently had a tender regard for 
him, and these Epistles were written to him to give him useful 
advice in the work of the ministry. 

The third chapter and eighth verse. “ As Jannes and Jambres 
withstood M<*fees.” Here we learn the name of two of the magi- 
cians of the Egyptians, who stood against Moses and Aaron when 
the miracles were wrought by the wonder-working rod. Their 
names seem to have been retained among the Jews, though they 
were not mentioned in the history written by Moses. 




THE EPISTLE TO TITUS. 

Titus was a Greek, to whom the apostle Paul had been the 
honoured messenger of preaching the gospel, and he had not re- 
ceived it in vain. Paul dearly loved him, and employed him much 
in assisting him to do his work; we read of his sending him to 
Corinth, to finish a collection there to assist the poor saints at 
Jerusalem, and to Dalmatia, to inquire after the saints there, and 
to comfort them. We do not read in the apostle’s history that he 






child’s commentator. 1145 


was ever at Crete, but from this Epistle it is thought that he was, 
for he says to Titus, “I left thee at Crete, that thou shouldest set 
in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders, or minis- 
ters, in every city, as I had appointed thee.” Crete is the largest 
island in the Mediterranean Sea, and is now called Candia. This 
island has a considerable number of inhabitants, and is remarka 
able for producing no ferocious or poisonous creature. This Epis 
tie was evidently written to teach Titus how to choose good men 
for pastors, and how to act himself as a minister of Jesus Christ. 


THE EPISTLE TO PHILEMON. 

This is a very short, but a very interesting Epistle. It is, in 
fact, a story about Onesimus, a converted servant, who ran away 
from his master Philemon, whom some think he robbed, and then 
went to Rome, where he heard the Apostle Paul preach, when his 
heart was changed. The kind apostle then wrote this most tender 
Epistle to Philemon, whom he knew, begging him to take his 
servant back into his service, for he was now become a truly good 
man, and what loss he had sustained by his absence the apostle 
assured Philemon he was quite ready to pay. It is supposed that 
Philemon lived at Colosse. 


THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 

This does not bear the name of the Apostle Paul, and is now 
generally believed to have been written by one of his disciples. 
Its purpose was to explain to the converted Hebrews, or Jews, 
the superiority of Christ to Moses, to Joshua, or Aaron ; to prove 
that in his priesthood and death, all the work of the priests was 
completed, that he had made a perfect offering for sin, and that 
from henceforth there was no other way in which salvation could 
be expected, but through Christ. With these remarks you will 
be able to understand the general scope of this Epistle, many 
things to which it refers having been explained when we were 
treating on the book of Leviticus. 



1146 child’s commentator. 


You will find a puzzling passage, which speaks of King Mel- 
chizedek, in the seventh chapter and third verse. “ Without 
father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning 
of days, nor end of life ; but made like unto the son of God.” In 
the hundred and tenth Psalm, the Messiah, that is, Christ, is pro- 
phesied of, who was to be “ a priest for ever after the order of Mel- 
chizedek.” The apostle Paul is here proving to the Jews that 
Jesus Christ is that priest. The priests of Aaron were known to 
be of the tribe of Levi, and their descent was all correctly made 
out, but Christ is a priest after the order of Melchizedek. Of 
this person we read in the fourteenth chapter of Genesis, and his 
descent and death were not known ; therefore he was a proper 
type of Jesus Christ, who was born of a woman, with only a re- 
puted, and not a real father, of his flesh, Joseph ; who had no 
mother, as a divine person, but God alone as his Father; who 
■|) existed “ from everlasting,” and who is “ alive for evermore,” and, 
as abetter priest than those of the line of Aaron, who continually 
1 4 died, “ever lives to make intercession for us. “ not with the 

• J blood of bulls and of goats, but with his own blood,” which was 

offered once for all, and the efficacy of which now always pleads 
for sinners in the presence of God. This is the scope of the argu- 
ment here followed up by the apostle, and which from these hints 
you will perhaps be able to understand. You see the apostle 
does not mean that Melchizedek really had no father nor mother, 
but there is no account of them ; nor that Melchizedek being a 
man lived for ever, but there is no account of his ever dying. 
And from these and other circumstances, he formed a fit shadow 
of the divine and eternal person of Jesus, “ the Great High Priest 
of our profession,” who, having once offered up himself as a sac- 
rifice of perpetual efficacy, is now gone into the heavens, “ to ap- 
pear in the presence of God for us.” 

Having come to the end of the Epistles of Paul, it may be 
proper before leaving them, to inform you, that the persons who 
wrote the Scriptures, before printing was in use, added the inscrip- 
tions at the end of the Epistles, saying from what places they were 
written, and as these do not form a part of the true Scriptures 
themselves, they are not always to be relied upon as correct. The 




child’s commentator. 1147 


passages I mean, are the very last written under the last verse 
of each Epistle. 

Finally, before we finish with the Epistles, let us call to recol- 
lection the following passages, which deserve particular notice 
from the young reader. 

“ Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.” — 

Ephesians. 

“ Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well- 
pleasing unto the Lord. — Colossians, 

Obedience to parents is a part of the divine law, and is often 
enforced in Scripture. And why so? Because young persons are 
apt to be headstrong, and to think that they know better than 
their parents ; therefore they are here checked, as the headstrong 
horse is checked with the bridle. When, however, children are 
commanded to “ obey in all things,” it must be understood, in all 
it those things that are not wicked. If wicked parents command j 

young persons to do wicked things, then they are to obey God I 

| rather than man ; for no human being can have authority to com- f 

f mand us to do that which is forbidden by God. When the com- i 

} mands of parents are opposed to those of God, they are, however, 1 

I not to be resisted in a haughty or angry manner, but let the J 

young person in such a case meekly say, God will not let me do 1 

it ; and it must be a wicked parent indeed who will not be satis- 
fied with such an answer, when the young person can give a scrip- 
tural reason for his not being willing to obey. Such a case, 

[ , however, 1 say, is rare. May the young reader never see any 
occasion to be put to the pain of refusing to obey his dear parents. 


THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES. 

The Epistle of James is called “ general,” because it was not 
written to any particular person. It was addressed “to the 
twelve tribes which are scattered abroad.” These were not Chris- 
tian Jews scattered abroad by persecution, but Jews who had 
been scattered over all countries by the captivity, numbers of 
whom never returned in consequence of Cyrus’s decree, but re- 
mained among the Gentiles. The author of this Epistle is thought 



L i 



1143 child’s commentator. 


to be James the brother of Jude, and is known by the name of 
James the Less, probably because he was less in stature, or 
younger than James the Son of Zebedee, who was slain by Herod. 
Some of the Jews here addressed were pious men, and some not. 
This is clear from the different sorts of address which we find in 
the Epistle, some consoling and comforting, others warning and 
rebuking. 

Fourth chapter and thirteenth verse. “ Go to now,” means with us, 
“come now.” “Ye that say, to-day, or to-morrow we will go into 
such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get 
gain.” Eastern merchants and dealers differ from ours in general. 
They travel from place to place, and exchange their wares, making 
their profits upon every exchange. Thus a merchant takes an 
article from his own city, which is made there, and goes to a dis- 
tance where that article is wanted, and exchanges it, at a great 
advantage, for some article sold in the city to which he travels. 
Then he goes again on his travels, and exchanges that second ar- 
ticle elsewhere to the same advantage ; and after being absent for 
a year or more, he will return home. Some merchants only deal 
in the first article, and go backwards and forwards to one city 
besides their own. In this way the Eastern trader now travels, 
taking with him his family, and dealing in gums, drugs, cloth, 
silk, muslins, jewels, precious stones, and other articles. So 
anciently they traded from city to city, carrying their goods on 
the backs of camels. The Jews traded thus to Tyre, Sidon, 
Caesarea, Crete, Ephesus, Philippi, Thessalonica, Corinth, Rome, 
and other places. To this wandering, trading life, James here 
alludes, and blames those Jews whose minds were wholly given to 
it, thinking only of what they should buy and sell, and determin- 
ing all that they should do, without ever thinking that if God 
did not bless and protect them, they could do nothing ; and for- 
getting that while they enriched themselves on earth, they were 
making no provision for heaven ; while they knew not how soon 
their life might be gone, like a passing vapour, and even could 
not reckon with certainty but it might be gone on the morrow. 






L 


1149 



child's commentator. 


THE FIRST AND SECOND EPISTLES GENERAL OF PETER 

These Epistles, like that of James, were addressed to scattered 
Jews, “ strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappa- 
docia, Asia, and Bithynia.” These might include some remains 
of the ten tribes carried captive by the Assyrians, and of 
the two tribes carried captive by the Babylonians; but more 
especially are the Epistles addressed to suffering Christians, 
chiefly converted Jews, and some Gentiles, who were scattered 
abroad in the early persecutions of the Christian Church. 

The apostle Peter was more especially sent to minister to the 
Jews, as the apostle Paul was to the Gentiles; and Peter meeting 
with a faithful brother, Silvanus, who had been the companion of 
Paul, takes an opportunity of sending a letter by him, chiefly 
addressed to the converted Jews, dispersed among the Gentile 
i countries, where he with Paul and others travelled ; the design of 
which was to show that both taught the same glorious doctrines. 
^ This was the First Epistle. 

> The Second Epistle was to urge those to whom the apostle 
'/ wrote to be anxious after divine knowledge, to fix their minds on 

I the gospel, to guard them against teachers that would instruct 

1 them in error, and to warn them of the approaching end of all 
things. 

In the last chapter of the Second Epistle, we have a very 
solemn account of the day of judgment, and an assurance that as 
the world has once been destroyed by a flood, so it will again be 
destroyed by fire. “ The Lord grant that we may find mercy of 
the Lord in that day.” 



THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN. 

The author of this Epistle was John, the Son of Zebedee, the 
disciple whom Jesus loved : he was the youngest of the apostles, 
and survived them all. It was called “general,” because it was 
not sent to any particular church or person. The design of 
writing it was to promote brotherly love, to warn against doctrines 
42 




1150 


OliiLD’s commentator. 


that allowed men to live in sin, and give clear notions of the 
nature of God, and the divine glory of Jesus Christ. There is an 
anecdote of this apostle worthy of being remembered, both by 
young and old, whom the venerable John was used to address alike 
by the tender names of little children. It is said, in some early 
histories, that he spent his last days at Ephesus, where he died ; 
and then when he was too old to walk, he was carried to the place 
of worship in the arms of some of the disciples. He could then 
only speak a few words very feebly ; and these words always were, 
“ Little children, love one another.” 


THE SECOND EPISTLE OF JOHN. 

This, you see, is not called “ general.” It was written to a pious 
lady. The scope of it is to urge this pious lady to hold fast her 
Christian faith, to avoid error, and to love God and those who 
loved him. 


THE THIRD EPISTLE OF JOHN. ' 

This Epistle was to a particular person also. His name was , 

Gaius, or Caius, and most likely the same mentioned by the ’ 

apostle Paul for his kindness in receiving, and lodging, and enter- 
taining good people. See the sixteenth chapter of Romans, near 
the end. In this Epistle, John speaks of one “ Diotrephes,” who 
was a very haughty man, which was not a proper mark of a 
Christian, and of one 41 Demetrius,” who had a good report of all 
men, as every Christian should have, as far as respects his life, 
temper, and behaviour. The former he mentions, that Gaius 
may not imitate him ; and the latter he holds up as an excellent 
example. We should always imitate the example of the truly 
wise and good. 


THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JUDE. 

This is also an Epistle written to no particular person, but 
chiefly designed for the Jews who believed in Jesus Ch'ist. Jude, 



1 


JOHN WRITING TO THE CHURCHES, 







THE ItlVEK OF THE WATEli OF LIFE. 













SStS 



child’s commentator. 1153 


or rather Judas, was the son of Alpheus, and brother of James 
the Less, or the younger. He was also called Lebbeus, and 
Thaddeus, for it was a frequent custom in those days to have two 
or more names ; so Peter was sometimes called Simon, and some- 
times Cephas. 


THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE. 

Domitian, a Roman tyrant, banished the apostle John, for 
being a Christian, to a solitary and rocky island called Patmos, 
about thirty miles from the western coast of Asia Minor. The 
good man is never alone, for God is with him everywhere. Here 



PATMOS. 



God favored John with wonderful visions of what should hereaf- 
ter happen to the Church and the world. The first three chapters 
of this book contain a sort of preface, addressed to the Seven 
Churches in Asia Minor ; namely, Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, 
Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. The remaining 
chapters are accounts of his vision. 





1154 child’s commentator. 

We shall first notice the Seven Churches in Asia. These were 
not the only Churches in Asia Minor, for there were Churches in 
Phrygia, Pamphylia, Galatia, Pontus, Cappadocia, &c. &c., which 
were also in Asia Minor ; but the apostle knew and wrote to these 
Seven Churches in particular. The first was Ephesus , of which 
we have made mention on several occasions. The second Smyrna , 
is at this time, the largest and richest city of Asia Minor. It 
contains about one hundred and forty thousand inhabitants, the 
largest number of which are Greeks; the rest are Turks, Jews, 
of whom there are eleven thousand, Armenians, Roman Catholics, 
and Protestants. It is a beautiful city, but frequently ravaged 
by the plague, — and has suffered by an earthquake. 

The third church named is that of Pergamos. This city is 
now called Bergamo. It must in John’s time have been a city of 
great importance, for it then had a manuscript library of two 
hundred thousand volumes, which Antony and Cleopatra, queen 
of Egypt, sent to Alexandria. It has now fourteen thousand 
inhabitants of different nations, but the houses are of wood, and 
look small and mean. 

The fourth Church named is Thyatira. This place is situated 
in the midst of an extensive plain, which is nearly surrounded by 
mountains. Its houses are low, and chiefly of mud or earth. It 
now looks poor and mean. It was anciently, and still is, famous 
for dyeing, especially in scarlet. 

The fifth Church mentioned is Sardis. This famed city was 
once the capital of King Croesus, the richest monarch that ever 
lived. He was defeated in the plain before the city by Cyrus, 
when it passed to the Persians. After the Persians were de- 
feated by Alexander the Great, it surrendered to him, and then 
in time to the Romans. It was destroyed by a terrible earthquake 
in the reign of Tiberius, the Roman Emperor, who rebuilt it. 
Afterwards the different nations of Goths, Saracens, and Turks, 
one after another, ruined it in their wars, and it is nothing but 
desolation. A mere sprinkle of ruins of its former greatness 
remains. No Christians dwell on the spot; two Greeks only were 
lately living there to work a mill, and a few wretched Turkish huts 
were scattered among the ruins. 



3&S= 



CHILD S COMMENTATOR. 


1155 


The sixth Church addressed was in Philadelphia. The Turks 
call this place Allah Shehr, or ‘city of God.’ There are now 
about three thousand houses on the spot, covering a space of 
ground running up the slope of three or four hills. The streets 
are filthy and the houses mean. 

The seventh Church was that of Laodicea. There were two 
places so called in Asia Minor. This place is more desolate than 
any of the others, having been completely ruined by earthquakes. 
Its ruins cover three or four small hills, and are of very great 
extent, consisting of an aqueduct, theatre, amphitheatre, and other 
public buildings. 

Some terms in these Epistles need here to be explained. 

You will observe that each of the Epistles to the Seven 
Churches is addressed to the Angel of each Church. Angel 
means messenger, and a messenger of the gospel is a minister ; 
j therefore the meaning is, “ to the minister of the Church at Ephe- 
sus and so for the rest. 

“ The Nicolaitanes” are mentioned in this Epistle. God is said 
to have hated the deeds of these people. They are thought to 
have been some who, while they pretended to love God, boasted 
of breaking his holy law ; and God always hates such evil doings 
and doers. 

Some remarkable fulfilments of what God said by the apostle 
John must also be noticed. 

The Ephesians had gone back in their religion, which is 
what is meant by leaving their first love. God threatened 
them by his prophet, and he told them that he would remove 
their “ candlestick” out of its place, if they did not repent. By 
this he meant, that he would quite take the light of the gospel 
away from them ; and he did so. Ephesus is now a forlorn spot — 
it is no more. 

Smyrna was mentioned in terms of approval, and no judgment 
was denounced against it. So, though they have but little gospel 
light, yet the candlestick has not been wholly removed out of its 
place, and the city itself is still large and flourishing. Of this 
Church, the venerable Polycarp was one of the pastors. In the 
year one hundred and sixty-two, about seventy years after this 



1156 


child’s commentator. 


Epistle was written, a persecution broke out against the Christians 
at Smyrna; and the Roman Emperors who had then dominion 
of those parts, treated them with shocking cruelty, because they 
would not serve their idols. The grey-headed Polycarp was 
marked for destruction. His friends concealed him in a village, 
but they were put to the torture to make them tell where he could 
be found. The old man could not bear that they should all suffer 
for him, and delivered himself up, saying, “ The will of the Lord 
be done.” When he was brought before the proconsul, one of the 
governors of Smyrna, he wished him not to be injured, and when 
he was examined, made signs that he should deny he was Poly- 
carp, but Polycarp would not tell a falsehood. He then urged him 
to deny Christ, and promised him safety. “ No,” said the brave 
old man, “four score and six years have I served Christ; neither 
hath he ever wronged me at any time ; how then can I deny my 
Saviour and King V y He was threatened with being thrown to 
the wild beasts, being burned and tormented, but he stood 
unmoved, saying, “ You threaten me with fire, which shall last 
but an hour, and is quickly quenched; but you are ignorant of 
the everlasting fire of the day of judgment, and of those endless 
torments which are reserved for the wicked ! But why do you 
delay 1 appoint me what death you please.” The proconsul was 
astonished. He then commanded the crier to proclaim three times 
that Poly carp owned himself a Christian, and he was sentenced to 
the flames. In the midst of the flames, he thus prayed to his 
Eather in heaven : “ O God ! the Father of thy beloved Son, 

Jesus Christ, and through whom we have received the knowledge 
of thee ! O God, the Creator of all things, upon thee I call, thee 
I confess to be the true God ; thee I glorify ! O Lord, receive me, 
and make me a partaker of the resurrection of thy saints, through 
the merits of our Great High Priest, thv beloved Son, Jesus Christ, 
to whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit, be honour and 
glory for ever, Amen.” Here was courage more than mortal ; 
God helping his servant to put on the martyr’s crown ; and here 
was fulfilled what God said to Smyrna, “ Be thou faithful unto 
death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” 

I wish you to understand that the rest of this book is very 



child’s commentator. 


1157 


difficult to explain, and can only in part be understood by those 
who are of riper years, and who well study and pray over it. I 
have said, I think, on the Prophecies, that they are written in 
dark terms, on purpose, because otherwise all the world would 
know them ; and they are only designed to be a guide to those 
who wish to know the mind of God, and to mark his providence 
in his dealings with his Church. 

I cannot therefore attempt to do more than to tell you, that 
most of the language here used, is the language of signs ; that is, 
certain things are made to mean other things. John in his 
inspired visions saw all that he states ; but then what he saw only 
represented realities in other forms. When he says in the first 
chapter. “I saw seven golden candlesticks,” these meant the Seven 
Churches of Asia, because like candlesticks they held the light — 
they had the light of the gospel shining in them, while the Jews 
and Pagans around them were in the dark. So, when in the same 
chapter the Son of Man, Jesus Christ, is described with eyes of 
fire, and feet of brass, and a voice like the sound of many waters, 
you are not to suppose that this really is the form in which Jesus 
Christ now is, but this vision so showed him, to signify that as 
fire penetrates every thing, so he could see all hearts ; as brass is 
durable, so are his promises and threatenings alike firm ; and as 
there is something grand in the sound of many waters, so when 
he speaks in his word, he speaks with majesty and authority, 
and we ought to hear. The seven stars in his right hand mean the 
ministers of the Seven Churches, who were to be lights to them, as 
they were to all around ; and the “ sharp two-edged sword” in 
the mouth of the Son of Man, was to signify “ the sword of the 
Spirit, which is the word of God.” 

The seven seals which were to be opened, and the seven 
trumpets which were to be blown, are descriptions of seven 
periods of Christ’s Church on earth, and of the divisions of those 
periods. They tell of the setting up of Christ’s kingdom in the 
world, — of the triumphs of Paganism, and rise and fall of Popery, 
and other great errors ; of the final triumph of the Gospel ; the 
happy state of the Church of Christ ; the Day of Judgment, and 
the eternal blessedness of the saints. May you and I, dear young 



1158 child's commentator. 


reader, be found among the happy number, adoring J esus, “ the 
Lamb of God,” who died for sinners, and singing for ever, “ Salva- 
tion to our God, which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the 
Lamb !” Amen. 



“ Most Remarkable Book of the Age.” 


THE HAND OF GOD IN HISTORY; 

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IN THE EXTENSION AND ESTABLISHMENT OF CHRISTIANITY. 

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All of which will be found of great value in “ searching the Scriptures.’* 

ILLUSTRATED WITH OVER 100 ENGRAVINGS. 

INCLUDING TWELVE PICTORIAL PARABLES. 

The numerous editions of superbly illustrated Biblos brought out within the past few years, evince 
the desire of the religious public to acquire instruction in its most attractive form. Of JfXX JJS- 
TRATED TESTAMENTS, however, the present Work is the only one now before 
the American Public. Eminently adapted to the wants of youth, both on account of its em- 
bellishments and the simplicity of its explanatory notes, and yet not unmindful of the wants of the 
general reader of maturer years, Cobbin’s Illustrated Testament has been received with uni- 
versal favor. The name of Cobbin as a Commentator, both for the old and young , has become a 
household word in both hemispheres. The Illustrated Testament is designed for Youth, for tho 
Family Fireside, and for the Sabbath School. For advanced youth and for Bible Classes, the work 
will serve admirably as a text-book and as a commentary. The Notes are not o f an abstruse 
character, but designed rather to attract the attention of youth and enlist their interest in biblical 
knowledge, as well as increase their store of general history. Recognizing the fact of the strongest 
appeals to the mind being made through the organ of vision, we have presented, regardless of cost, 
the most complete set of illustrations, over one hundred in number, suitable for such a work. The 
v -«rk has received the unqualified praise of the most distinguished clergymen of all denominations, 
both in Europe and America. 

Sunday-School as well as Bible-Class Teachers will find this to be the book for which they have so 
long looked in vain. The Publishers present it to the great army of Sunday-School Scholars as a 
work of more practical value to them than any other book published. 

The Notes are very full, and written so that they may be understood by all; and, what is still 
liettcr, they are NOT SECTARIAN. 

IT IS A BOOK FOB THE PEOPLE, and the Publishers believe it will receive a 
hearty welcome at every fireside from Maine to Texas. 

001VX>ITIO]VS s 

The work will be printed on eighty-pound tinted paper, in one crown a-tavo volume, of 528 page*, 
profusely illustrated, aud will be furnished to subscribers, in various styles of binding at the following 

nwf n.wl • 


pnces: 

Cloth Imitation Morocco, Panelled Sides $2 50 

Full Leather, Library Style 3 00 

Morocco Full Gilt, Panelled Sides (Elegant Parlor and Presenta- 
tion style) 4 00 


A sample copy of the work will be sent, post-paid, on receipt of price, to any person who may 
dartre to examine the book with a view to taking an agency. Address, 

H. S. GOODSPEED & CO., 37 Park Row, N. Y. 

8 D 84 
























































































































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